Descendants of Escaflowne Chapter Eleven
by J.Alberghini
Summary: Just when things were going well, an new enemy in an old fortress decides to come and crash Van and Hitomi's wedding.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Escaflowne does not belong to me. Nikki, Harumi, and Mia do. 

Descendants of Escaflowne

"And then what happened?" five-year old Nikki asked. 

"Then I came home," her aunt replied. 

Nikki frowned, disappointed. "That's it? No happily ever after?"

She shrugged. "Depends on how you look at it."

Nikki squirmed out of her lap. "What do you mean?"

"Well, in some ways it wasn't totally happy. I miss him very much. But I would have missed everyone here if I had never come back. And I never would have met you."

Nikki considered this. "And I never would have met you either," she said finally. 

Her aunt smiled. "Exactly. So some good did come out of it."

"Can I go play outside now?"

"Yes, you may. But don't go in the street. I'll watch from the window." She hugged her and skipped out the front door.

"Are you sure you should have told her those stories?" Her cousin Harumi walked into the living room. 

"There's nothing wrong with telling stories."

"I know that. But you're making it sound like it's real." 

She frowned. "That's because it _is_ real. You believed me when you were young."

"Well, I was five years old and I believed anything back then. But, really, you can't keep going on about this weird fantasy world like it really exists." 

"I can and it does. You're becoming as bad as my father. My mother and Nikki are the only ones who believe me."

"Yes, well, it runs in the family," Harumi replied. "It's like a tradition or something."

"The story, or the fact that almost everyone believes that we're insane?"

She laughed. "Both."

"Well, it's true, believe it or not. I'd take you there myself if I could."

"But you can't. So you don't have any proof. The only thing that could take you there was that pendant of your grandmother's. And you lost it."

"I didn't lose it," she reminded her. "I…"  
"… gave it to that king to remember me by." Harumi recited along with her. "When will you move on with your life?"

"I don't know. I probably never will. Because I will be going back there someday."

Harumi rolled her eyes. "You say that all the time. It's been fifteen years now, Hitomi."

"No matter how many years it's been. I will. Anything's possible if you wish hard enough."

She sighed. She knew it was no use arguing with her. 

* * * * * *

Van walked down the long hall of the castle. He stopped when he heard a loud giggle coming from one of the bedrooms. He stepped inside and spotted a tail sticking out from under the bed. Slowly he tiptoed to it and lifted up the bedcovers. "Found you," he said triumphantly. 

The person the tail belonged to giggled and jumped out. "Yeah. Here I am. You found me!"

Van laughed. "Your mother said the exact same thing when we were young."

The little girl nodded. "During the war, right?"

"Yup. You sure have a good memory, Mia."

Mia giggled. "Well, I've only heard the story a hundred times. From you and Mother."

"Yeah, I know." Van sighed. "It's the only way to keep it alive."

"Hmm." She nodded. "Guess what?" she said. 

"What?"

"Father's coming home soon! Mother just told me. Isn't that great?"

Van smiled at her. "Yeah, really great."  
"And we're going to have a party for him. Mother said it's okay. But I had to ask you first."

He laughed. "Merle would go along with it anyway. But I don't mind. It's not every day your father comes home."

"I know! I miss him _so _much. So does Mother."

He nodded. "Of course she does." Van felt sad. At least Merle's husband was coming home. He didn't know if he'd ever see Hitomi again. Even after fifteen years, it still hurt him to think about it. 

"I feel like he's been gone forever," she continued. "I wish he could've taken me with him." Merle's husband was a cat-boy who had been apprenticed to Dryden when he rebuilt his trade fleet a few years after the war. He was constantly traveling with him. "How come Tatiana gets to go, but I don't?"

"Because she's a lot older than you," Van replied. Tatiana was Millerna and Dryden's ten-year old daughter. She often went with her father while Millerna stayed and took care of her duties as Queen of Asturia. Mia, at five, was mostly confined to the castle with her mother and godfather, but it she still longed to spend more time with her father. Van knew how she felt. 

"Come on," he said. "Let's go to the throne room. Allen's coming today."

"Oo, goody!" Mia loved Allen almost as much as Van. He visited frequently. "Is Chid coming?"

Van nodded. "But not for a few days. He isn't staying long. He has duties as the king of Freid."  
"Right," Mia agreed. She took his hand. "Let's go!" She pulled him out the door.

* * * * * *

When they got to the throne room, Allen was already there waiting.

"Hey!" Van greeted him. "That was fast."

The knight nodded. "Yes, the girls release me early," he said, speaking of Millerna and Princess Eries. "They knew how I couldn't wait to come."

Mia ran to him. "Lord Allen?" She jumped into his lap. "Father's coming home!"

"Yeah, I know. We got a letter from Dryden a week ago," he explained. 

Van nodded. "Well, it's great to have you here," he said. He put something down on the table. Allen glanced at it. It was Hitomi's old pendant. He sighed. Van still wasn't about to let go. 

Mia tugged at his sleeve. "Come play hide and seek with us."

"Maybe later," he replied. He wanted to talk to Van privately. 

"Please?" She purred pitifully. 

Van grinned. "How could you refuse her, Allen? Even I'm going to play." He guessed what his friend was thinking of and wanted to avoid the subject. 

Allen gave up. "Well, in that case, I'm in. Something else I'm better at then you," he teased. 

"No way," Van retorted. "I'll show you a thing or two. Come on Mia." She took both of their hands and proceeded to drag him out of the room. None of them noticed the pendant shiver and then disappear. 

To be continued… (maybe )


	2. Chapter One

Disclaimer: Escaflowne does not belong to me, Nikki, Harumi and Mia do. 

Chapter One

While she waited for her friends to come out, Nikki searched through the dirt to find stones for hopscotch and other games. Something pink in the grass caught her eye. She went to inspect it. It was a pink stone. There was a chain attached to it. Nikki picked it up. It began to glow in her hands. "Wow, pretty," she said to herself. 

Meanwhile, Hitomi had gone upstairs to go get something. Harumi stayed and watched her play out the window, but the phone rang and she ran to go answer it. No soon had she turned her back when a pillar of light came down and took Nikki up into the sky and disappeared.

* * * * * *

"Come on, chase me!" Mia said. She had gotten tired of hide-and-seek and convinced the two men to play tag instead. 

Van shook his head. "I think that's enough for today. Go play with your mother."  
"Okay." She ran inside the castle. 

Allen groaned. "I'm getting way too old for this."

Van laughed. "Yeah, me too." 

Merle came to the door with Mia hanging on her arm. "It's time for dinner," she called. 

"Finally," Allen said. "Being around that bundle of energy sure gives me an appetite."

"Yeah, she's worse than Merle was when she was young."

Mia let go of her mother and swung holding both of their hands as they walked inside. Merle started to follow, but stopped when she saw a flash of light in the distance.   
"I'll be right in," she said to the others. She ran into the forest to investigate. She didn't have to go far. A little girl was lying on the ground. Her clothes were full of dirt and she had slight cuts on her head. She appeared to be unconscious. Merle knew it was dangerous to be out there with dragons still wandering around. She picked up the girl and carried her back to the castle.

* * * * * *

Word spread throughout the castle about the little girl. Van said he would send servants to attend to her, but Merle said she'd do it. She wanted to have a closer look at this girl. There was something about her that reminded her of someone; she just didn't know what. Merle moved aside her light brown bangs to dab a wet cloth on the cuts. It wasn't long before her eyes fluttered open. 

"Where am I?" she asked, groggily. 

Merle held back a gasp. Those eyes, they were almost the exact same green as Hitomi's! There were other similarities too, although they were a little more vague. But their hair color was almost the same caramel-looking color and, if she looked at it at a certain angle, they had the same nose too. The little girl started to back away towards the wall in her bed, nervous about having this cat-woman watching her. Luckily, Merle was able to recover her wits and stop staring. 

"You're… you're in the Fanelian castle," she stammered. 

The girl's eyes widened. "Fanelia? You mean on Gaea?" She jumped out of bed and poked her head out the window. She let out a cry when she saw the Mystic Moon hanging in the sky. 

Merle covered her ears. "Yes, on Gaea. Are you from the Mystic Moon?"

The little girl nodded. "Yeah, my name is Nikki. What's yours? No, wait, I want to guess."

"Um, okay," Merle replied, trying to prevent yelling herself. 

"Is it… Merle?" Nikki asked. 

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Because you're in the story," she replied. 

"Story?" Merle repeated. 

"Uh huh. The one we just finished this morning. This is so cool!" 

"Oh." Merle thought while Nikki bounced around the room excitedly. This girl was from the Mystic Moon and looked an awful lot like Hitomi. But why? Was this girl related to her somehow? Merle wanted to ask but wasn't sure if she should. What if Hitomi had found someone else and this was her child? Merle knew that it would break Van's heart if it were. After all this time, he still hoped that she loved him and would return. But Merle also knew that she couldn't keep this a secret from him for long. Before she could decide what to do, she realized that Nikki had disappeared. Merle ran down the hall, just in time to see her turn a corn. Merle sped after her, trying to keep up. But she was extremely fast and soon was out of sight. Merle slowed down, peering into the rooms to see if she was there. She almost gave up when she heard a scream come from the throne room. Merle raced to get there and found and extremely scared Nikki in front of two very tall guards with long, pointed spears. 

"Oh, dear," Merle muttered. She went over and stood by her. "If you would please excuse us." They put their spears down, allowing them to pass through. 

"I'm so sorry Lord Van," she said to him. 

He shrugged. "What's going on?" 

Nikki gasped and pushed passed Merle. "You're the boy with angel wings!" she exclaimed. Merle clapped a hand over her mouth. 

"Yes, that is the name of my new horse." Van quickly dismissed the guards before they could ask questions. "Yes, I suppose you can say that. Who are you?" Van held back a gasp seeing her. Unlike Merle, he noticed the resemblance the instance he saw her. 

She bowed. "I'm Nikki." 

"What are you doing here? Where are you from?" He didn't want to be so gruff, but he wanted answers and he wanted them now. 

"From the Mystic Moon," she replied. "But I'm not sure why I'm here. One minute I was playing with a necklace I found outside and, the next, I was here."

Van frowned. "What did it look like?" 

"It had a pink stone hanging from it." 

The three adults exchanged a look. Van glanced over at the table where the pendant had been. It was gone. 

"Hmm. Why did you call it the Mystic Moon? No one from there calls it that."

She nodded. "I know, but you call it that here."

"Yes, that is true. Come sit down. Tell me more." Merle pulled up a chair. "Thank you." He signaled for her and Allen to leave. They obeyed.

They stared at eachother for a moment. Nikki was trying to decide what to say to him first. There were so many things that she wanted to know, but didn't know if she could ask. One similarity of theirs was jumping out at her but she wasn't sure if it was polite to say so. Fortunately, Van asked her, for it was the question he was most dying to know. "How's your mother?"

"She's gone. So is my daddy."  
"What?" he blurted out.

Nikki nodded sadly. "Uh huh."

"How?" He didn't want to make her upset, but he couldn't help it. 

"They… they had an accident. My daddy was a runner. My aunt was the one who had gotten him into it because she ran track in high school. They were traveling to go to a race but their plane crashed. We saw it on TV."

"Oh." He looked at her sympathetically. 

"Now I live with my aunt. She told me about here."

Van let out a deep breath. "Your aunt told you? What's she like?"

"She's really cool. She taught me how to run really fast. So did her friend Amano. He was my daddy's coach."

"Amano?" Van said. He remembered him from when he had first met Hitomi. "Do you see him a lot?"

She nodded. "Yes, he comes with his daughter and his wife. She's my aunt's best friend. Her name is Yukari. She's nice."

Van let out another breath. "So your aunt isn't married?"

"Nope. It's just the two of us and her cousin Harumi."

"Oh. What's your aunt's name?" Van asked, even though he was almost positive he knew.

"Hitomi. Hitomi Kanzaki. She has the same last name as me."

"So she's your father's sister?" Van vaguely remembered Hitomi telling him about her brother.

"Right. Aunt Hitomi told me you lost your parents too."

"Yeah, when I was about your age."

"I miss Mommy and Daddy a lot," she said.

"I understand."

"Do you miss your parents?"

Van nodded. "Of course."

Nikki paused for a moment. "Do you miss Aunt Hitomi?"

"Yes, I miss her. More than anyone."

* * * * * * 

"Gone?" Hitomi repeated. "What do you mean 'gone'?"  
"I don't know!" Harumi said. She was biting her nails. "One minute she was here, the next minute she had just disappeared.'  
Hitomi took a deep breath. "Let's try to remain calm about this. We'll call the police as a last resort. Now let's go look for her." They went out the front door and she locked it. 

"Hitomi, I am so sorry. If anything happens to her, I don't know what I'd do." Harumi was greatly upset, and not just because she was worried and blamed herself. She looked at her as a little sister. She felt a bond with her. Both had lost their parents when they were young. That was how she came to live with Hitomi and her family. 

Hitomi went to the spot where Nikki had last been. She noticed something on the ground. 

"What's that?" Harumi asked, noticing it too.

"I…" She bent down to pick it up. "My old pendant! But… how did it get here?"

In answer to her question, the pendant began to glow and the same pillar of light descended, picking up both of them.

To be continued…


	3. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: Escaflowne does not belong to me. Nikki, Harumi and Mia do.

Chapter Two

"Ouch!" Harumi exclaimed as she landed right on her butt. "What was that?"

"The portal to Gaea," Hitomi said calmly.

Harumi stood up and took in her surroundings. They were in a forest. Small animals like chipmunks and squirrels were collecting nuts that fell on the ground before someone else came along and got them. She watched them with awe. They weren't things she normally saw in the city. In fact, nothing there was like the city. She saw a small dirt road slopping down to the valley below, but there was no traffic, no street lights; none of the things she had grown accustomed to seeing over the course of her life were there. It was quiet, tranquil. Now she knew why Hitomi liked it there and told her so.

Hitomi shrugged. "Well, not really. This is Gaea at peace. When I was here, things weren't so quiet. And I just added to the chaos." 

Harumi breathed in deeply the fresh, pure air. "It's hard to imagine chaos in this place. If this isn't why you liked it, then why did you?"

"You need to pay more attention," Hitomi replied. 

"Okay, so maybe I was a little hasty doubting you. But why?"

"The answer's quite simple: I found love here."

"Speaking of love, am I going to meet this guy?"

"I don't know. But we have more important things to do right now than worry about boys."

"Yes, ma'am," she teased. 

Hitomi frowned at her. "Come on." She walked down the path. Harumi raced to keep up.

* * * * * *

"And she tripped him and he fell right in the mud," Nikki said. 

Van laughed. It felt strange doing so. Although Mia's crazy antics were plenty to laugh at, this was the first time he laughed about something that involved Hitomi. She almost made up for the darkness that had seemed to be taking over his life. Not as much as Hitomi would, but, with the combined efforts of his friends, it took away some of the pain her leaving had given him. 

"Can you tell me a funny story about you and Aunt Hitomi?" Nikki asked him. 

"Didn't she tell you everything already?"

She nodded. "But I want to hear it from you."

Van thought for a moment. For a minute he wasn't even sure that there was anything, or they had all been erased from his memory. Some events he supposed he could laugh about now, like when she had slapped him for being a jerk after slaying the dragon. Or Hitomi and Merle fighting. But, even so, he didn't find them funny. They just made him sadder than before. 

Nikki sat patiently, awaiting his story. Van shook off the wave of grief that had overtaken him in his reminiscing. "Did she tell you about the hand maiden thing?"

"Tell me," she replied. 

"Well, it was when we first went to Palas…"

* * * * * *

  
"Hitomi, slow down!" Harumi exclaimed. "Ow, I wish this road was paved." She had taken her shoes off because it was her unfortunate luck that she had decided to wear heels that day. Running in them was bad enough if it was a normal person, but Hitomi was nearly impossible to run after without spraining something. "Where are we going?"

Hitomi turned to look at her. "I'm not sure."

Her jaw dropped. "You're not? I thought you knew this place!"

"I do, but that doesn't mean I know where Nikki is." She turned back and stopped dead in her tracks. 

"What's the matter?" She peered around her so she could see. "Wow, talk about a big house."

"It's not a house," Hitomi corrected her. "It's a castle."

"What's the difference between a castle and a palace anyway?" Harumi pondered. 

"I have no idea."

"For someone who lived in this medieval world, you sure don't know much."

"Well, it's been fifteen years. It's changed. Come on, let's go to the castle."

"You're kidding." She stared at it. "Where going in there?"

"You said you wanted to meet Van. So now is your chance."

"Huh? What? Van?" But Hitomi was off and running again.

* * * * * *

Allen was relaxing outside the castle when he spotted two figures rushing towards them. As they came closer, he realized he knew one of them. He could scarcely believe his eyes, but he knew it was her without a doubt. Logic told him that she would be coming after the girl, but he still couldn't believe it was really her after all these years. He raced to meet them. "Hitomi!" he shouted. 

"Allen!" She ran to him. "Oh my gosh, it's so good to see you!"

He laughed. "It's good to see you too."

"I'd love to catch up, but I kinda have something to do. You see…"

He grinned at her. "You're always rushing to save someone. And you haven't even been here for five seconds yet. Come on, let's go to the throne room."

"Normally, I'd love to, but this is a special case. You see I…"

"I know." He took her gently by the arm and led her away. Harumi followed, dumbfounded.

* * * * * *

"Wait out here, okay?" he said. 

"But Allen, I need to find…"

He cut her off. "I know, I know. That's why you're here, isn't it? That and for a nice little reunion." He chuckled. "I can't wait to see the look on his face."

"Now? I'm in crisis here. Just look at me. You can't expect me to…"

"I'm sure he's seen you looking much worse."

She frowned. "That doesn't comfort me."

"Um, excuse me," Harumi spoke up. "Uh, hi. Can you please explain to me what's going on here?"

"You're getting a proper introduction," Allen answered her. "Although I wish Millerna were around. We could use her medical expertise."

"Oh, get on with it!" Hitomi shouted at him. She blushed. "Sorry."

"It's okay. I just wanted an effect. But we'll do it your way. Rush, rush, rush. Don't you ever slow down?"

Before she could reply, he pushed open the large wooden doors and they stepped inside. Sitting in a chair was none other than…

"Nikki!" The girls exclaimed. 

"Harumi! Aunt Hitomi!" She ran to them. "You came here too?"

Hitomi hugged her fiercely. "I was so worried about you."

"I'm okay. Guess who I met!" 

"Who?"

"Hitomi," she heard a voice say softly. She straightened up. "Van?" she asked uncertainly. 

"Yeah." She studied him for a moment. His voice was deeper and he looked like he hadn't shaved in a while, something that was unnecessary when she had last seen him. But his hair was as messy as it had ever been and his eyes were the same. She ran into his arms. Nikki cheered. She heard a loud bang. Mia had been hiding under a table watching and hit her head. No one else noticed her. Allen had a huge grin on his face, while Merle was standing at the door, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. Even the guards were smiling. Hitomi was near tears herself. She held onto him tightly. He clutched her with equal strength. They held eachother as if they would never let go. 

(Six more reviews) to be continued… 


	4. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: Escaflowne does not belong to me. Nikki, Mia, and Harumi do.

Chapter Three

Merle regained her common sense and proceeded to usher everyone out of the room. She took Nikki's hand and then her own daughter's, frowning at her. Mia shrugged sheepishly. Merle sighed and led them away.

Van and Hitomi released their embrace and stood staring awkwardly at each other. Though they had imagined it a thousand times, they had subconsciously never thought that it would actually happen; therefore, they had nothing prepared to say to each other. 

Hitomi gazed around the room, stalling. She had never been in here before. But, not far down the hall, she could see the room where Van had his fighting lessons with Balgus. And the room she occupied during her short stay there. It was like stepping back in time. Everything was almost exactly the way it was. Memories came flooding back to her: chasing Merle down the hall, watching the Mystic Moon while wondering if she would ever go home again. Hitomi sighed happily. She certainly wasn't very eager to go home this time. 

"What are you thinking about?"  
She jumped. "Oh, I was just reminiscing." 

He nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I don't think a day goes by when I don't."

"Me neither," she said. She smiled at him. "So, how's everyone around here? It seems pretty peaceful so far. No vision of impending doom yet, so that's a good sign."

"Yup," he agreed. "It's almost like it never happened. Almost."

"Hmm. Yes, it feels that way sometimes. But then it doesn't."

"Uh huh," he replied numbly. "I've missed you," he said quietly.

"What?"

"I've missed you," he repeated. 

"I've missed you too." She hugged him again. "I can't believe I'm really back. It's the same as it was before, but different."

"I understand. If you look around, it looks the same. But things have changed, more than you know."

"Oh? Like what?" she asked curiously.

"Like Merle got married."

Hitomi's jaw dropped. "You're kidding."

"No, I'm not. And she has a five-year old daughter. She was just here a second ago."

"I didn't even notice. I can't believe that. She was just so…" Her voice trailed off. 

"Obsessed?" he suggested. "I guess so, but she gave that up long before you left. And then she met her husband and there you go."

"Weird," Hitomi commented. "But I'm glad for her. What else is new?"

Van thought for a moment. "Well, Millerna and Dryden got married again. Now they have a ten-year old daughter. Her father died, so she's the queen now. Dryden managed to get his business back together."

"You mean the one that took him five years to build up and he sold it to pay for Escaflowne's repair builds so you'd survive after you nearly killed yourself?"

"Yes, that would be the one." 

Hitomi frowned. "And it was useless anyway."

"Did you come back here just to yell at me about things that happened fifteen years ago?" Van asked seriously.

She sighed. "No. But I still get upset about it. You almost..."

Van kissed her. "But I didn't, thanks to you. Now let's stop talking about the past and focus on the future for a little while."

Hitomi laughed. "Yeah, it's been fifteen years, I think its about time we did that."

"Better late than never," Van replied. He kissed her again. 

"Yeah, you're definitely right about that."

* * * * * *

Nikki stared at the Mystic Moon in awe. The window was almost big enough for her to fit in standing up. It was the exact same window of the exact same room that Hitomi had remembered before. And, just like her memory, the upside-down face of a cat-girl appeared in that window. 

Nikki gasped and backed away. "Oh, hi!" She didn't like the way this cat-girl was looking at her, but it was her nature to be friendly to pretty much everyone.

"Hello," Mia replied nonchalantly. She jumped off and landed in the room, using her tail for balance.

"Wanna play with me?" Nikki offered politely. "What games do you play here?"

"I don't want to play with you," she said rudely. This was rather ironic since she had been hoping for a playmate her age to come along as Van, Allen and Merle were getting too old to keep up. If it were anyone else, she would have seized the opportunity. But she had developed an instant dislike to her. And Nikki was about to find out why. 

"Look," Mia began, "I don't mind if your aunt is with Lord Van. He and Mother have told me the story millions of time and they've pretty much established that they're supposed to be together. I have no problem with that. He needs someone."

"Yeah, so?" Nikki still didn't have the faintest idea what this had to do with her. 

"But," she continued, "that doesn't give you the right."

Nikki looked at her, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I don't want you hanging out with Lord Van. He's my godfather. I don't want you taking up all of his attention." 

"But I…" Nikki started to protest. 

Mia detached her claws and showed them to her. "Or else." She leaped out the way she came, leaving a very scared-looking Nikki behind.

* * * * * *

Hitomi shut her eyes tight. Van quickly unlocked a chest and took out a small box. He pressed it into her hands. 

"Okay, you can open your eyes now," he said. 

She did so and opened the lid. Inside sparkled a ring with a small, but perfect, diamond. "Van, I..." she began breathlessly, staring at it.

"Hitomi," he said solemnly, "will you marry me?"

She gasped. "Van, I… I mean, it's so soon."

He gave her a funny look. "It's been fifteen years. And I'm not going to let you go so easily this time."

"Yes, but I need time to think about it."

"Oh." His face fell.

"Like about five seconds. Van, of course I'll marry you."

His eyes lit up. "You will?"

"I said so, didn't I?" She slipped it on her finger. "Perfect fit," she said cheerily. She kissed him. 

He put his arms around her. "Finally, we could be together without anyone getting in the way. "

"Yeah," she agreed. "No Merle or Allen…" She turned her head slightly. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Merle and Allen, standing in the doorway, along with Harumi and the girls. 

"Then again," Van said, "Maybe not." 

(Five reviews this time) To be continued


	5. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: Escaflowne does not belong to me, Harumi, Nikki and Mia do.

Chapter 4

The little girls shrieked with joy. Nikki ran to hug her aunt. Then she went to hug Van, but a look from Mia told her to forget about it. She shrunk back behind Hitomi. 

Merle clapped her hands in delight. "We have to tell everybody about this. Someone needs to get Millerna here."

"Not necessary," Allen said. He grinned sheepishly. "I sent a messenger to Asturia right after she got here."

"Very sneaky Allen," Van said. "But it saves us the trouble. I guess we'll have to make a public announcement about this."  
Merle nodded. "The citizens will be thrilled."

"Don't forget about Father," Mia spoke up. 

"Oh, that's right." Van frowned, thinking hard. "Well, he'll be back in about a week. There's no way we can get a letter to him before than. We're not going to do it right away anyway."

"Definitely not," Hitomi agreed. "Weddings take time to plan. Some take years."

Van's jaw dropped. "Years?" he repeated. "I meant, like weeks or something. Not years."

"As you wish, your majesty," Hitomi laughed. 

"Wow, it's going to be so weird," Harumi commented. "You're going to be a queen."

"Yeah, I know." Hitomi tried to appear confident, but she was clearly shaken up by the idea, even though she had always known what would happen if they got married.

"Anyway," Merle said, aware of her discomfort, who else do we have to tell?"

"Well, Chid will be here in a day or two, so we'll tell him then," Van replied. He wouldn't look at Allen as he said this. 

"Who's Chid?" Harumi asked. 

"The Duke of Freid," Allen said. "You didn't tell me he was coming." He glared at Van.

"What's the matter?" asked Nikki.

"It's a long story," Hitomi said. "One of the parts I'm not about to tell you."  
"Yeah, I know: "You're too young, I'll tell you when you're older." She frowned. "You never tell me anything!"

"Girls, go outside and play," Merle said. 

"But, Mother," Mia began to argue. 

"Go!" The girls obeyed. 

"What's the problem?" Harumi whispered. 

"Chid is Allen's son," Hitomi answered. "But I don't know what happened."

"Chid found out that Allen's his real father," Merle explained. "He didn't take it well."

"Oh, poor Allen," Hitomi said. 

"You should have cleared it with me first," he said angrily.

"It's my castle, my country. I can invite whomever I please. It has nothing to do with you. Whatever problems you have, I'm not getting involved with. You have to deal with them yourself." In truth, Van had hoped that by getting them together they would solve their problems. Apparently, that wasn't going to happen.

"But he's impossible!" Allen shouted. He was near tears. "He hates me!"

*Flashback*

"Listen, son," Allen began. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner…"

"Don't call me that!" Chid shouted at him. "I'm not your son! You are not my father!"

Allen shook his head. "I am. It's the truth."

"No, it's not. How could it be?"

"It's a very long and complicated story. Your mother and I…"

Chid put his hand in the air to stop him. "No. Look, maybe you're my father by blood. But, if you were my real father, you'd have… well, you'd have done a lot of things. Did you even come to see me when I was born?"  
"Well, I… no," he admitted. "But…"

"Why not?" he yelled fiercely. "Didn't you care about me?"

Allen looked crestfallen. This was not what he had hoped would happen. He expected he'd be a little angry for not telling him, but not like this. Allen wanted to have the relationship with his son that he didn't have with his father. But, judging from Chid's immediate reaction, that wasn't about to happen.

"I know you're a little angry," Allen started to say.

"A little? You don't know how angry I am. I could understand you not coming when my father was alive, especially not at first. But you did come eventually."

"Exactly, so…"

"I didn't finish. You came to fight a war. You helped us, true, but not because of that. It had nothing to do with me."

"But, I…" Allen knew in his heart that he did come because of that. He couldn't have let his son get killed. But Chid anger blinded him from the possibility.

"I don't know how I ever looked up to you. All those stories Mother told me." His eyes flashed with rage. "You say you loved her, but you didn't even come to see her when she died."

"But Chid," Allen protested forcefully. "I'm sorry," he said, a bit more gently. "I made some mistakes. I'm only human. And I'm asking you for a second chance. Let me make it up to you. Please?"

"No!" The word stung like a million slaps in the face. He was never hurt this much in any battle. "I can't. If you really wanted to be a father to me, you would have done it as soon as the duke died. Not ten years later."  
"Yes, that was wrong of me. But you were so young and…"

"Don't make excuses."

"I'm begging you. Don't do what I did. I never got to know my father and I'll always regret it."

"Well, I'm not like you or your father. I'm leaving." He walked away. 

"Chid," Celena began. She had been watching quietly the whole time. He slammed the door. Allen stared after him, stone-faced. 

"Well," she prompted, "aren't you going to go after him?"

"No, why? So he can yell at me some more? No way." He put his hand to his eyes to conceal the fact that he was crying.

"But you just said…"

He shrugged. "It's his decision."

Celena threw her hands up in frustration. "Fine. If you're not going to do it, I will." She took off after him. 

Allen watched her go, but he didn't move a muscle.

*End Flashback*

"I don't want to go through that again," Allen told Van. "I almost lost two people in my family."

"It's your own fault," Van replied. "You can't just let someone go like that. Believe me, I learned the hard way." He glanced at Hitomi. 

She went next to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Van's right, Allen. But its not too late. You can still make things right."  
"I don't know," he replied sadly. 

The girls crept back inside from their hiding place behind the door. Mia cuddled up to her mother. Merle put her arm around her. Nikki moved loser to Harumi and reached for her hand. She gave it, frowning. Apparently, there was a lot more to the people of Gaea then she knew from the story. And, so far, she didn't know what she could do about it. 

(F- Ah, you know the drill) to be continued. 


	6. Chapter Five

Disclaimer: Escaflowne does not belong to me. Harumi, Nikki, Mia and Tatiana do. 

Chapter Five

A couple mornings later Harumi awoke to loud talking outside her bedroom door. Instinctively, she reached out to hut off her alarm clock. Instead, she fell right out of the pale blue canopy bed she was given. It was much higher than her normal bed and the floor hurt a lot more than when she normally did it, which wasn't that rare, since she had somewhat of a clumsy streak. She picked herself up and peered out the window. The sun was just beginning to rise and the Mystic Moon was still visible. 

"Just my luck," Harumi grumbled, "that they use people instead of roosters." She climbed back into bed and covered her head with a pillow. But the noise only seemed to grow louder. She heard a thump and then a giggle. The door swung open and Nikki bounded in. 

"Wake up sleepyhead! Come on!" She pulled the covers off. 

"Hey!" Harumi exclaimed. "What the- er, heck is going on here?" One of the drawbacks to living with a five-year old was having to watch your language. Harumi still had a little trouble with at. When she was in high school two years ago, she, like her cousins, was on the track team where the boys were well known for their filthy mouths. She supposed she just picked it up from them. Hitomi didn't believe it was fair to blame them, more likely the somewhat wild crowd she often hung out with nowadays. But she understood and let it slide. Still, she hoped she would someday find a nice boy that she'd fall in love with. 

Nikki leaped onto the bed and jumped up and down. "Get up, get up, get up!"

Harumi covered her ears. "All right. No need to shout." Reluctantly she got out of bed again. Nikki wouldn't wait for her to get dressed. She simply dragged her down the hall. 

Van, Hitomi, Allen, Merle and Mia were in the dining hall waiting. 

"Good morning," Hitomi, Merle and Van said cheerfully. Allen just grunted in greeting. He appeared to be rather ticked off at something. She knew how that felt.

Mia surveyed her nightclothes, which she had borrowed from Merle. "That's how you dress formally on the Mystic Moon? In your night gown?" Harumi suddenly noticed that the others were all dressed up, at least compared to when she first met them. Well, all except Allen. Clearly he'd been to busy sulking, for whatever reason, to put much thought into what he was wearing. 

"We do not!" Nikki retorted, more bravely than she normally would have around her. Mia hissed. "I- um, take that back." Hitomi and Merle glanced at them oddly, then looked at each other and shrugged. They knew they would get over it eventually. After all, they did.

"I didn't have time to get dressed," Harumi replied wearily. "It's the crack of dawn."

"Are you kidding?" Van asked. "The sun's been up for hours and so have the rest of us."

"No, it hasn't, you've just been bouncing off the walls all night," Allen said. 

Harumi looked confused. "Why? Is it a custom in Fanelia to have a sugar rush before bed."

Allen shook his head. "No, Van's just excited. We received word that Chid was arriving this morning. Like yourself, I was dragged out of bed against my own free will."

Van scowled at him. "Could you be any more unpleasant? You've been complaining all morning."  
"Yeah, you're such a liar," Merle added. "You know you want to see him, you just won't admit it."

"That's not true," he said, "I'm just anxious to see Celena, that's all."

"Yeah, right." He stuck his tongue out at her. 

"For grown-ups," Nikki commented, "You sure act like a bunch of little kids."

"For one, I have to agree with you," said Mia. 

It didn't really matter to Harumi how Allen felt. She was sorry for him, but she, for one, was anxious to meet this guy, after hearing so much about him. 

Meanwhile, Hitomi was looking out the window. "He's here!" she announced. 

Van peered out next to her. "That's not Chid. That's from Asturia."

"Wow, already?" Merle looked impressed. "That was fast."

"Let's go meet them!" Mia sped down the hall. The others followed at her heels. 

There was a carriage standing in front of the castle. A footman went to open the door, only to be hit in the nose full-force. Millerna and a young girl jumped out. Princess Eries followed. 

"Hitomi!" Millerna exclaimed. She hugged her. 

"Millerna! It's so good to see you!" Hitomi laughed. "No offense, but I can't believe I actually said that."

"Me neither," Millerna said. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks. You too."

"Oh, thank you." She motioned for the girl to come forward. 

"Tatiana, what are you doing here?" asked Allen. 

"I got here right after you left. Father sent me home because he said I have a cold." She sneezed. "I don't know what he's talking about."

"You've been sneezing and coughing the whole way here." Eries frowned disapprovingly. "You should have stayed home."

"I'm f- f- f- ACHOO!"

Millerna handed her a handkerchief. "You wouldn't be sick if you took better care of yourself. Who knows what you eat. I can only imagine. Your father ought to keep a better eye on you."

"The mother and the doctor," Hitomi said under her breath. Van laughed. 

Tatiana scowled. "I don't need anyone to baby-sit me. I'm old enough to take care of myself. Besides, Father's too busy." Mia looked at her sympathetically. 

Hitomi studied the girl carefully. She looked like a miniature version of Millerna. But nothing about her came even close to resembling Dryden. Automatically, she glanced at Allen. He glared at her as if to say, "I don't think so." 

"One is enough," he muttered. Merle, who'd been listening, frowned at him. 

"Let's go play," Mia suggested. The girls ran inside. Nikki lagged back. She knew that didn't include her. 

Merle called them back. "Don't you want to see Chid when he comes?"

"Ooh, he's coming?" Tatiana asked excitedly. She adored her cousin, but he was too busy to visit often, or so he said. Privately, his aunts believed that he just didn't want to run into Allen. They had seen each other only a couple of times since their fight and wouldn't even look at each other when they did. They didn't speak, but that was even worse. Despite the efforts of Van and the women, nothing worked. The quiet hostility when they were in the same was relevant even to the children, although Tatiana was the only one who knew the whole story. She had a way of finding out things that she wasn't supposed to know. 

Van heard a horse's whinny in the distance. "I think that's him now." Sure enough, another carriage pulled right up to the castle. 

Chid jumped out as quickly as his aunt and cousin did. Mia and Tatiana ran to him and squeezed him so hard he could barely breath. 

"Wow, he sure grew up," Hitomi whispered. "He looks more like Allen than ever." And he did. He was much taller than Allen, a feature which Hitomi suspected he got from his mother. His hair was now about shoulder length and pulled back in a ponytail. He had long since grown out of that look of boyish innocence he had when he was a child. He was a man now, now doubt about it. Although, he appeared somewhat stern, he smiled warmly at his young friends. But his smile faded the moment he saw Allen. The two stood there, staring each other down. If someone hadn't noticed their resemblance before, they would now. Both wore identical sour expressions. Chid's fists were clenched. Hitomi almost expected him to punch Allen in the face. Van did too. He stood ready to break them up. Millerna seemed greatly upset, Eries opened her mouth to scold and the little girls nervously backed away. They didn't have to anything however. 

Celena hopped out of the carriage and put her arm around her nephew, more to restrain him than to show affection. "Hello, everyone!" She said cheerfully. She glanced at Hitomi and grinned. Hitomi smiled at her, but she was puzzled. She wasn't sure why she was with him. 

Van noticed and quickly explained. She returned to Freid with him after the fight. Now she was Chid's chief military advisor. The other advisors were a bit worried about this, but she proved herself. The soldiers were completely loyal to her. They knew she knew what she was doing. At the beginning, they weren't happy about listening to a woman and a few tried to hit on her. They soon learned that that was a mistake. If they hit on her, she'd hit right back and it wouldn't be pretty. Now they knew better. She was glad of it. She hated to have to do that. Even after fifteen years, she still felt guilty of her mistreatment of the Dragons Slayers and felt that their loyalty to her caused their death. Dilandau or not, she missed them. 

Celena hugged her brother fiercely. It was a hard decision to leave him, but she felt it was something she needed to do, partly to make up for what she did to Freid as Dilandau, and also to try and get her family back together. Over and over she had tried to get them to reconcile, but neither would go for it. That was the reason she and Van had planned this trip. But it didn't seem to be working so far. After he finally let go of her, there was another awkward silence. Van broke it by telling Chid and Celena about the wedding. They were as excited as the others had been. 

"I can't wait!" Tatiana exclaimed. "I've always wanted to see a wedding. I could, but some people are just too slow." She glared at Allen and Eries. They blushed. 

Millerna raised her eyebrow. "Why would _they_ be getting married?'

"Because I saw them kissing and…" Allen clapped his hand over her mouth. 

"Tatiana," he hissed, "that was supposed to be our little secret, remember?"

"No," she replied sweetly, "I don't remember that at all." 

"I knew you couldn't keep a secret," Eries said. 

"So it's true?" asked Hitomi. "How come no one told me you were an item?"

"Because we didn't know," Van replied. "Allen, how could you not tell me?"

"Or me?" Millerna said to her sister. "I can't believe this."

Chid snorted. "I can. It's no surprise. He's probably going for a full set: first my mother, than Aunt Millerna, now you." He was annoyed at the somewhat instability of his father. He couldn't settle for just women, not that Allen didn't try. It just wasn't in his power to actually keep a relationship back then, but he and Eries had been together secretly for quite some time now.

"Chid…" Celena began. 

He pushed her aside. "They say you're such an honorable knight. What's so honorable about the way you treat women? If only they knew the truth about you. You're a… a…"

"Pig?" Harumi supplied. 

"No, much worse than that. You're a…"

"Wait a minute!" Merle shouted. "How many times must I say this? NOT IN FRONT OF THE KIDS!"

"I'll take them outside," Tatiana offered, guilty about the trouble she caused. They trailed after her reluctantly. 

"Okay, now you can go ahead." 

"A… a… um, I can't think of the word. But you are, don't deny it."

"Chid…" Celena tried again. 

"I'm leaving. I can't take being in the same room with you, you disgust me so much."

Eries attempted this time. "Chid…" He stomped out of the room.

"Well," Celena said. "Ooh, déjà vu." She was referring to their last argument. 

"What do you expect me to do?"

"Allen," Millerna began gently, "he is your son…"  
"Not as far as he's concerned."

"But you have to," Hitomi said. "Remember what happened with your father?"

He shook his head. "I got over it in time, so will he."

"Yes, but you're alive, so he can forgive you in person," Van said. 

"I'm not going after him," Allen said firmly. 

While the others fought him some more, Harumi slipped out. She was going to do this herself. She felt that she had to. She knew what it was like not to have parents. But he still had a chance, she didn't. That door was closed the moment they died. No one deserved that. Too many got it already. 

Harumi passed the girls on her way out. Seeing Nikki made her even more determined. She didn't want Chid to have the same fate as they did. "Have you seen Chid?" she asked them.

"He went that way." Tatiana pointed to the right. Harumi followed the path and found Chid amidst the graves of the dead Fanel family. He was sitting on his heels, staring into space. There were tears in his eyes. 

Harumi studied him for a minute, unsure of what exactly she was going to say, before she finally announced her presence. "Um, Chid?"

He looked up. "What do you want?" he asked sharply. 

"I just wanted to talk to you."  
He sighed. "Yeah, I imagine a lot of people do."

She sat down next to him. "I'm not here to lecture you, if that's what you're thinking. That isn't like me. I'm usually the one to be lectured."

He laughed slightly. "Good." They sat in silence. This gave Harumi the chance to get a good look at him. He was every bit as handsome as his father was, but that wasn't why she felt so drawn to him. Perhaps it was because she understood what it felt like to be an orphan. But she was trying to change that. Maybe it was something else. _Something about him_, she thought. _He's shy, but he's strong too. Ha, the strong silent type. Not what I usually look for in a guy. But that's not why I'm here._ She figured he was probably about twenty, the same age as her, so at least they were somewhat on the same level. The best way to break the ice, she decided, was to talk about her own experience. 

"Mind if I tell you a story?" she asked. 

He shrugged. "Go right ahead." 

"When I was five, my parents died in a car accident. I don't' remember very much about them. What I do remember, I don't like to talk about much. After that, I moved in with Hitomi's family. They were great, but…"

"But what?" he prompted her. 

"It wasn't the same as having my real father and mother. There's a strong bond there, you know." He shrugged again. "There were so many things I missed out on that a lot of normal kids have. And now Nikki has to go through what I did."

"What's your point?" Chid asked. 

"My point is, having a father, uh, parent rather, is something you can't let go of. If you have the chance, you have to grasp it, no matter what…"

"Mistakes they may have made," he finished for her. "Thanks for the story, but I don't think I'll take your advice."

"I didn't say you had to. It was just a suggestion. " She stood up. "I just have to say one last thing."

"What?"

"Every minute of every day, I regret not being able to spend a lot of time with my parents. Every single day. " She turned to leave. 

"Yes, but…"

She spun around. "But what?"

"I'm scared to. I want to, but I'm just not sure if I can face him. And I never know if I can trust him or not."

"So? Take a chance. You don't have anything to lose. It's not whether you can or not, it's if you believe you can. It's hard, but you have to at least try."

Chid nodded. He thought back for a moment, remembering how Allen had said that it takes a lot of courage to believe in someone. That made sense, he understood it now. "I guess you're right. Thank you. Now two people in your family have helped me."

She smiled. "Don't mention it."

He got up. "I'd better go inside and talk to him. Can I ask one favor?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Can you come with me?"

"Uh, well…" His eyes pleaded with her. She knew it was best for them to speak in private, but something about him had warmed the cold heart she had towards most others. She couldn't refuse. After all, she could always leave. "All right." She took his hand. "I'll be there for as long as you need me." They walked back into the castle together.

(5 R) To be continued


	7. Chapter Six

Disclaimer: Escaflowne doesn't belong to me, Harumi, Nikki, Mia, Tatiana and Kyle do.

Chapter Six

Chid and Harumi returned to find Van, Hitomi, Merle, Celena, Millerna and Eries all yelling at Allen. However, they stopped as soon as they saw them. 

"Allen," Chid began. "Can I talk to you?"

He gave the others a look that said 'I told you so,' before saying, "Sure, Chid."

"We'll be outside if you need us," Hitomi said. She and the others stared to walk out. 

"No, that's all right. I want you guys to stay." 

They didn't need any coaxing. They grabbed whatever space they could and sat down eagerly. Harumi let go of his hand and sat between Hitomi and Merle. 

"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have been so angry at you. I know you really didn't mean to hurt me."  
Allen nodded slightly. "I'm sorry, too. Will you give me a second chance?"

Chid paused. "Yeah," he said finally. 

Celena cheered and hugged the both of them. The young girls rushed in. 

"What happened?" Tatiana asked worriedly. Then she saw them hugging and let out a cheer of her own. 

"We have a lot to catch up on," Allen said. "All three of us." Celena grinned at him. 

"Actually all, um…" Millerna did a head count. "Well, all of us."

Merle shook her head. "Not now."

"Why not?" Van asked. 

"Because," Hitomi replied, "we have a wedding to plan."

"Did someone say wedding?" They looked up. Dryden was standing in the doorway.

"Daddy!" Tatiana ran to him.

"Hey, sweetheart!" He picked her up. 

A cat-man, who was the same colors as Merle and Mia, came up behind him. 

Merle went over and kissed him. "Hitomi, this is my husband Kyle."

"Nice to meet you," he said. "Merle and Van have told me so much about you. Well, Merle did anyway."

"Oh, dear." He chuckled. Hitomi sized him up. He was tall, much taller than Van, and very good looking. Merle was gazing at him lovingly, but not obsessively, Hitomi noted. She appeared very secure in their relationship, not jealous at all. He didn't give off any vibes of wanting to leave her either. Mia clutched his leg. They looked like one happy family. 

"So," Dryden said, "what's this about a wedding? Finally decided to tie the knot, huh? Took you long enough."

Hitomi laughed. "Yeah, and it'll take even longer if we don't start now. Van's given an impossible deadline."

"It's not impossible," he said defensively. "It doesn't have to be anything too big and fancy."

The girls stared at him. "It doesn't?" They exchanged a look. 

"I think we'll leave Van out of most of the wedding plans," Merle said. "Clearly, he does not share the same train of thought as the rest of us."

"We should have specific people in charge of everything," Tatiana suggested, "so everything goes smoothly." They nodded in agreement. "Most of the servants will do the work, but we have to supervise."   
"I'll oversee the music," said Harumi. "Maybe I'll teach them to play something decent, earth-wise."

"Okay," Hitomi agreed, "but make sure it's decent for the rest of us."

She grinned. "Why would I do otherwise?" Hitomi made a face at her. She wasn't sure she could trust her mixed taste in music. One moment she would be listening to Mozart, the next, heavy metal. There was no telling what she might decide on. 

"I'll help," Chid volunteered. Allen raised his eyebrow at him, but then he saw how he was looking at Harumi. He chuckled to himself. He should have known. It was probably something he would do.

"I'll take care of the food," Eries said. 

"I'll help you with that," he said quickly. 

Millerna shook her head. "No, you're going to need to work on your speech." 

"Why's that?" he asked. 

"Well, you are the best man, right?" Hitomi said. Van nodded.

"Oh, I am?" He was surprised, but pleased, that Van had chosen him, especially since he almost kept them apart. But he did know him longer than any of the other guys. 

"We'll help you find a dress," merle said, speaking for herself and Millerna. 

"What can I do?" Nikki asked. 

"You can come with me when I make the announcement this afternoon," Van replied. 

"Me, too," Mia said. 

"Sure…" he started to say, but Kyle shook his head. 

"I'm going to need your help unloading all this stuff I brought back in about an hour or so. Right now, I want to spend some time with your mother."

Let's go for a walk. We'll be right back." She took his hand and they walked out into the gardens. 

Mia pouted and glared at Nikki. She didn't want her to be with Van when she wasn't there. But she did want to be with her father too. Torn and angry, she stomped out of the room. 

Nikki watched her go, frowning slightly. She thought the situation was just as unfair as Mia did, but for a different reason. Mia had a choice; she had her father too. And yet she was trying to prevent Nikki from having someone. She envied her immensely and found her selfish for thinking she had gotten the raw end of the deal. She would have loved to trade places with her. A tear rolled down her cheek. 

"You okay?" Van asked her. 

Nikki tried to smile. "Yeah, I'm all right." She took Van's hand. 

Hitomi patted her shoulder. "You two go ahead and do what you have to," she said, shooing them out. She and Van exchanged a sad smile over her head. She was glad that they were getting along. Nikki needed someone like him, not just as a father figure, but because he understood what she was going through. That was why Hitomi had her live with herself and Harumi, instead of her parents, like they wanted. She always encouraged them to spend time with each other. It was something Hitomi couldn't sympathize with, but they could. She felt somewhat guilty about making her niece stay her, but now she knew it was best for all of them. They would be happy, everyone. Finally.

* * * * * *

"Hmm, let's see," Kyle appeared to be studying the contents of his ship very carefully. "I wonder who this could be fore," he said, picking up a large box. 

Mia jumped up and down. "What'd you bring me?"  
He laughed and gave it to her. "I can't fool you, can I?"

"Nope," Mia replied, grinning up at him. She set the box on the ground. 

He picked her up and sat her on his knee. "Your mother was telling about your behavior towards Nikki this morning," he said nonchalantly.

Mia jumped up and began to protest. "I haven't done anything to her."

"I didn't say you did," he said, a little wearily. "But from what your mother told me, you haven't been very friendly." 

"I don't like her," she said stubbornly. 

"Whyever not? She seems like a nice girl to me." He looked at her seriously. "I thought you wanted a new playmate."

Mia snorted. "Not her. She's been here for only a couple of days and it feels like she's taking over. Lord Van never plays with me anymore, but he's with her now."

Kyle shook his head. "I don't think she's the reason Lord Van's been so busy. But I understand why you don't like her."

"Good. Then I don't have to be nice to her." 

"Uh, no. I want you to be nice to her. Come here." He put her back on his lap. "Nikki's probably feeling a little unwelcome. This is a strange world to her. She doesn't have a father of her own to make her feel better, and she needs someone like it. You have a father. Not letting her have someone remotely close to that is selfish."

"But I rarely get to see you," Mia protested sadly. 

"I know. But think about it if you wouldn't see me at all. You wouldn't like that, would you?"

"No," she admitted. 

"Well, then you see how she feels. You'll still be special to Van; Nikki can't replace you. But he has enough room in his heart for both of you and he needs to give her the love she needs as much as she need to get it. Understand?"

Mia nodded. "I'll be nice to her now, I promise."

"Good." He tousled her hair. "Besides, I don't want you to be spending all that time with Van anymore."

"Why not?" She asked, snuggling up to his chest. 

"Because, then you'll never have time for me."

Her eyes grew wide. "You mean you're staying?"  
He nodded. "Yep. I'm going to run a trading post here in Fanelia so I won't have to travel anymore."  
"Yea!" She threw her arms around his neck and squeezed tightly. 

"Ouch," watch those claws," he laughed. "You and your mother need to start using that nail file of hers again."

* * * * * *

Later that day, Mia was looking for Van at a request from her mother. She found him in his room with Nikki. Van was holding up different shirts while she gave her approval. Mia stifled a giggle. Her orders were to prevent him from doing this, at least not without Merle having the final decision. She rapped on the open door. 

"Oh, hey. You can help us. Which do you think I should wear for the wedding?"

She shrugged. "Mommy wants to see you. She says that you have to let her know what you're wearing."

"Uh oh. I'm in trouble. But it's better than letting someone else pick who can't make up her mind." He tweaked Nikki's nose and set out with his shirts to find Merle. 

The two girls looked at each other warily. Nikki's eyes darted towards the door, hoping to make a quick escape. Mia drew in her breath to prepare herself. She was never any good at this sort of thing. 

"Um…" she paused. Nikki backed away, afraid. Mia felt even worse for her than she did before and extremely guilty for causing her fear. But she wanted to make it up to her. "Wanna come play with Tatiana and me?"

Nikki's eyes lit up. "You mean it? Can I?"  
Mia nodded. "Sure. After all, we're going to be living together, so we might as well hang out. We can be like sisters."

"Really? I've always wanted a sister," she said shyly. 

Mia put her arm around her. "Well, now you have one. Come on, let's go play."

Nikki nodded, grinning from ear to ear. "Llet's go see Harumi. She said she'd teach us a song." The girls skipped out the door, nearly bumping into Van and Hitomi, and Merle and Kyle. Both couples were smiling at them. 

Hitomi cheered inwardly. Things couldn't get any better than this.

* * * * * *

The fortress was wedged between two sharp cliffs. All the levistones had eroded away after fifteen years. Inside, it was as quiet as a tomb. Shards of broken glass lay on the floor; the remains of Dornkirk's failed creation, the Fate Redirector. No one had set foot here in fifteen years. Some were too afraid; others couldn't be bother. But today, that was going to change. 

A tall, shadowy figure stepped onto it for the first time. Were anyone able to see his face, they would say there was nothing but hatred on it. This man was angry, insanely angry. For fifteen years he had been waiting, searching for what he needed to carry out his mission: his revenge on those who had destroyed Dornkirk and his work. The man who killed him was dead, but those he cared about, who had destroyed Dornkirk's masterpiece, they still existed. He made a disgusted face. While they had been living happy lives, Dornkirk was a rotting corpse, a ghost doomed forever. And he, he was forced to hide and plan. It had been hard, but he had finally found all he needed to finish Dornkirk's work. He snorted. Let them be happy now. Their happiness wouldn't last much longer, he would see to that. He would make them pay. 

To be continued… 


	8. Chapter Seven

Disclaimer: Escaflowne does not belong to me

Disclaimer: Escaflowne does not belong to me. Nikki, Harumi, Mia, Tatiana, and Kyle do. 

Chapter Seven

Hitomi shook her head. "No, not that one either." She and the other girls were looking at wedding gown patterns with the court seamstress. It was the fifteenth dress she'd refused. There were plenty of others to choose from, but the seamstress was getting fed up. She couldn't say anything, being Hitomi was going to be Queen, but she glowered at her when her back was turned. 

"What about this one?" Merle suggested. 

"No! I mean, they're very pretty dresses," she said, catching the seamstress before she could put on a fake smile again, "but none of them seem right."  
"You're pickier than I was when I got married." Millerna noted. 

Hitomi shrugged apologetically. "I know, but…"

Merle thought for a moment and suddenly got a brilliant idea. "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" Hitomi asked, but she was gone already. She and Millerna looked at each other and shrugged. 

Merle ran back into the room. A white gown was hanging from her arm. The top was a button-less vest, with a long skirt sewed to the inside. 

Hitomi gasped. "Merle, it's perfect. Where'd you get that?"  
Merle grinned. She knew she would like it. "It belonged to the Queen. Van gave it to me when I got married, but it didn't fit. Unfortunately, it was meant for wings, not a tail." She pointed to the small slits in the back. "We can sew them up." 

"Merle, I couldn't…" Hitomi protested. 

"I have a feeling she'd want you to wear it." 

Hitomi hesitated for a moment. "Well, if you really think…"   
"Try it on," Nikki urged. 

"I guess there's no need for me anymore," the seamstress said. She picked up her sketches and left the room, muttering "waste of time" under her breath. 

Hitomi slipped the dress over her head. "You look beautiful," Harumi breathed. The others nodded in agreement.

"We just have to take care of some accessories," said Millerna. She put the pendant around her neck. "That's better."

"Wait. One last thing." Hitomi expected Merle to rush out of the room again, but she simply picked up a box in the corner. "The royal jeweler just finished it this morning."

"We have a royal jeweler?" Harumi said, impressed. "Cool."

Hitomi opened the box and lifted out a god tiara. It was simple, but elegant: jewel-less. The front was wider than the rest and came to a point in the middle. It looked like something out of a fairy tale. Hitomi placed it on her head. 

"Now you look perfect," Nikki said. 

Hitomi gazed in the mirror. "You think so?"

Before they could respond, Van poked his head in the room. Harumi ran in front of him, blocking his view. "Don't come in here!"  
"Why not?" he asked, slightly hurt. 

"Because you're not supposed to see the bride in her wedding dress before the wedding." 

"I never heard that."

"She's right Van," Hitomi said. "Mystic Moon tradition. You can't see me at all the night before the wedding either. It's bad luck."

He sighed. "I guess we need all the luck we can get."

Tatiana clucked her tongue. "Don't be a pessimist."  
He shrugged. "I need to talk to Merle. I'm forbidden to do anything without her permission."

"What's the matter?" Merle came over to him. "I'll be back soon." She followed him down the hall. 

"I'd better go find Chid. We still have some music things to take care of." Harumi left with Tatiana at her heels. 

"I'm going to go supervise Allen and Eries," Millerna said. She and Celena went to catch up with the others. 

Hitomi was left alone with the children. She smiled at them and then something occurred to her. "Shouldn't you be in bed?" They shrugged guiltily. "Come on, I'll tuck you in." They followed her reluctantly.

* * * * * *

Later that night, Celena tossed in her bed. She bit her lip to keep her from screaming allowed. Sweat rolled down her cheeks and she whimpered softly. In the daylight, she could fake it, pretend nothing was wrong, so well that she'd believe it too. But at night there was no escape. At night, her guilt tormented and tortured her.

_"Lord Dilandau… Lord Dilandau… Lord Dilandau…" Faces swarmed in the air, perfect one moment, strewn with blood the next. _

A little girl was crying huddled in a corner, her face buried in her arms. "Don't leave me alone!"

"Celena." A dog-faced man patted her back. She felt safe again. But then he started to drift farther and farther away

"Jajuka!" she cried. "Jajuka!" But this time her voice sounded different. It was deeper. The little girl lifted her head, but she wasn't a little girl anymore, instead she was a young man. His eyes gleamed with rage. They were evil eyes. He gave a cold, cruel, laugh.

"Lord Dilandau," a number of voices chorused. He proceeded to slap and abuse every single one of them. And yet they stood up again, only to be beaten back down. 

The scene changed. It was a dark alley. "Lord Dilandau," a boy squeaked out. A doppleganger came from behind, putting both hands around his neck and choking him. 

"Miguel!" Celena screamed out. But the boy he called out for did nothing. 

The scene changed again. The ground was a pool of blood. The dragon charged at the guymelefs, demolishing each one and the man inside. Yet the ghosts surrounded him, saying, "Do not hurt Lord Dilandau."

"You killed them!" Dilandau screamed. 

"He didn't kill them," Celena's voice echoed in her mind. "I killed them. They were loyal to me. They died because they were loyal to me. Me… me… me…."

Celena sat up in bed, gasping for air. She sighed, relieved. It was a dream. But it wasn't really a dream. It really happened. The Dragon_ Slayers_ were dead, every single one of them. Even Jajuka, the man who had cared for her before she became Dilandau, that awful monster. They were gone. But the guilt would never go away.

* * * * * *

Nikki was tucked snugly in bed. There was a slight smile on her lips; she was dreaming happy dreams. At least they were at first. 

_Everything went black. "Where am I?" Nikki wondered. Then, all of a sudden, she found herself somewhere else. It was dark, but it wasn't night yet. There was no fog. Not a cloud was in the sky, but something was blocking the sun: a big black building, a castle in the sky. She gazed at it in awe until she heard the sound of crashing metal. She tried to cry out, but not a sound came out of her mouth. Two giants were fighting each other amidst rocks and rubble. One giant was white and appeared somewhat familiar, almost friendly. The other was completely black, though somewhat similar in shape. The giants were evenly matched. She turned her eyes; not sure she wanted to see the results. But when she turned, she saw more giants. A red one was on its knees surrounded by the others with their swords pointing at it. They seemed frozen in time, neither attacking nor withdrawing. _

Then rocks came falling out of the air, but she wasn't sure where they came from. Her family and her new friends were there. The rocks were showering over them. No one moved, there was no where to go. There seemed like nothing she could do. Only the white giant seemed capable of saving them, but how? She feared it would be too late. They would all die. Just like her parents.

Nikki's eyes flew open and she screamed aloud.

To be continued…


	9. Chapter Eight

Disclaimer: Escaflowne does not belong to me, anyone that's not a normal character is

Disclaimer: Escaflowne does not belong to me, anyone that's not a normal character is.

Chapter Eight

Hitomi awoke suddenly when Nikki screamed. The time spent with her niece had given her the hearing only a mother could have. As well as the instinct to go comfort her. Hitomi said up in bed. There was a faint glow in the room, but none of the candles were lit. She looked at her bedside table. It was her pendant. 

Hitomi frowned. Nothing good could come of this. But it was odd. The pendant's reaction usually signaled something bad was going to happen within a moment. Or that there would be some vision. But, tonight, there was nothing. She sighed and picked up the pendant, which reflected it's light on her hands. She would figure it out later. Right now, she needed to take care of Nikki.

* * * * * *

Sweat dripped down Nikki's cheeks, yet she shivered as the images she saw came back to her. All the color was drained from her face. She fought back tears, and the urge to scream again. Hitomi raced to her side. Seeing her aunt only gave her some comfort. 

Hitomi's frown deepened as she surveyed her niece's condition. She had no idea of the cause of this sudden fear, her parent's death didn't seem to effect her in this way and it had been months since then. Surely it would not take this long for it to come out. 

She patted the little girl's back, trying to look reassuring. "Did you have a nightmare?" Nikki nodded numbly. "What was it about?"

"I saw all these giants fighting, and then this castle in the sky, and all these rocks started falling down around everyone!" she said through choked sobs. She gazed up at her aunt. Instead of calm and reassuring, Hitomi looked as upset as she was, perhaps even more so. This was not what she'd expected, or wanted. 

"Giants, did you say?" her voice wavered. Nikki nodded. "You'd better come with me." 

She followed her aunt into the silent hall. Hitomi stopped at the room next to her where Harumi stayed. The door was open a crack. Harumi lay in bed, sleeping soundly. She seemed oblivious to the activity around her. Hitomi shut the door and continued on. 

Nikki walked at a distance behind her, trying to keep up with her aunt's pace. She heard a howl in the distance. She jumped and ran up to her aunt. Hitomi put her arm around her. "It's only the wolf-men. _They_ won't hurt us." Nikki looked at her worriedly. She did not like the way she said "they."

Their next stop was Van's room. Nikki stood at the door as Hitomi went in. He, too, was sleeping comfortably. Hitomi touched his hand. Only then did Nikki notice the pink glow from the necklace Hitomi was carrying. Hitomi sighed and kissed him on the forehead. Then she left the room, with Nikki jogging to keep up. She led her outside.

Nikki gave silent thanks that Gaea had two moons. Otherwise, it would have been a lot darker. She didn't like the dark. The pendant provided some light, but that only seemed to make this more eerie. Finally, after Nikki's sore feet made her feel like they'd been walking forever, they stopped. Nikki shuddered when she saw the tombs in front of her. Though she was only five, she'd been through enough funerals to know what they held. 

Hitomi beckoned her close to her, which she obeyed willingly. She held her pendant up. Nikki gasped at what she saw with it's light. 

"That's one of the giants from my dream!" she exclaimed. 

Hitomi nodded, not seeming at all surprised. "That's Escaflowne. I've told you about it, haven't I?"

Nikki nodded. "I think so."

"I'm glad you told me about it." Hitomi gave her a tight-lipped smile. "Your dream could be very important."

"You mean it might actually happen?" she asked fearfully. 

Hitomi shrugged. _I hope not_, she thought. She put the pendant around Nikki's neck. "I want you to wear this, all right?" 

Nikki fingered the stone. "But I thought you were going to wear it for your wedding." 

Hitomi shook her head. "I think it'd be better if you would wear it."

There was something in her tone that told her not to ask questions. Nikki nodded slightly. 

Hitomi hugged her. "Now we'd better go back to bed." She took her hand and led her back inside. Before she did, Nikki took one last look at the giant Escaflowne, which looked even scarier without the pendant's light.

* * * * * *

Late the next morning, Hitomi returned to the same spot. Van was there, scraping the rust off Escaflowne's sword. 

"You're just in time to see him wake up," he greeted her. "I can't believe I'm preparing for war the day before our wedding."

She sighed. "I know. But it's better to be safe than sorry. We don't want to be unprepared like last time."

He shook his head. "No, I guess not." He picked up an energist lying on the ground. 

"Did you have to slay another dragon for that?" she asked, a look of horror on her face. 

"No, we have a whole stock of them. There's been no need for them since the war ended." He slit his thumb on the edge of his sword. Then he let his blood flow on the energist before he put it in Escaflowne. It glowed brightly as it came to life. Hitomi reached for the pendant around her neck then realized she didn't have it anymore. 

"Are you sure about this?" he asked. "I mean, you've told her about Escaflowne. So maybe she just had a nightmare about it from what she heard."

Hitomi thought for a moment. Then she shook her head. "No, I left out a lot of stuff about the fighting. She is only five after all. I don't want her to have to hear about that stuff. Maybe I shouldn't have let her stay in Gaea. She would probably be better off living with my parents."

Van put his arm around her. "It's not your fault. You weren't the one who brought her here. She must have some purpose, like it or not."

Hitomi nodded and leaned against him. "I just wish I knew what was going on. Then I wouldn't be so worried."

"Don't be," he said seriously. "I won't let anything happen to Nikki or you or anyone."

"Thank you." She kissed him. She knew he would do his best to keep that promise. 

"Let me worry about the fighting," he continued. "We have a wedding tomorrow. Worry about that instead."

Hitomi gasped. "Oh, and I still have to fix my dress. Not to mention check on what everybody else did. Oh, dear. Gotta go." She ran of, nearly tripping over the hem of her dress. 

Van looked at Escaflowne, the only thing around to listen to him. "Maybe I shouldn't have said that."


	10. Chapter Nine

Disclaimer: Escaflowne does not belong to me, any other characters do

Disclaimer: Anything, songs, characters, etc., that you recognize from the series does not belong to me. Any other characters do.

Chapter Nine

"Lord Van and Aunt Hitomi, Lord Van and Aunt Hitomi, say I do, say I do…" The voices of the two little girls grew faint as they ran down the hall.

Hitomi groaned. "Did you have to teach them that song, Harumi? It was cute in the beginning, but now it's starting to annoy me."

Harumi shrugged apologetically. "They were bored, what else was I supposed to do?"

"Teach them something quiet," Hitomi said through clenched teeth. Harumi didn't think this was such a big deal, but Hitomi was rather moody today, and she didn't want her to bite her head off. Why she was like this on her wedding day, Harumi wasn't sure. She'd believed that brides were supposed to be happy, maybe a bit nervous, but nothing more. But she didn't intend on asking Hitomi about it.

"Do I look okay?" she asked, converting to the nervous, insecure, Queen-to-be Hitomi.

"Yes, for the thousandth time, you look beautiful!" Millerna exclaimed, trying to hide her exasperation. Harumi wasn't the only one who was staying on her toes that morning.

"Actually, it was the fourteenth time," Tatiana said matter-of-factly. 

Millerna looked at her daughter. "That's one of the worst things you've learned from you father," she said affectionately, squeezing her shoulders. "You know how to count." The others laughed. "Now go play with the other girls."

"Okay," Tatiana took off, her blond braid bouncing as she ran.

Hitomi touched up her lipstick again. "Okay, I think I'm ready. Thanks."

"You're welcome," Merle said. She gave her a hug. "We'd better go get dressed and check on the boys. If I know Lord Van, he's probably going to have cold feet today. He…"

"What?" Hitomi said, alarmed. "After all we went through, he'd better not."

"… never wears his socks," Merle finished. Hitomi breathed a sigh of relief. "Come on girls." The four women filed out of the room, including Celena who'd barely said a word that morning. 

Hitomi gazed in the mirror for a long time. Then she buried her face in her hands.

* * * * * *

Harumi lagged back a few feet down the hall. "I'll be right back," she said, turning abruptly. 

"What's the matter?" asked Millerna. 

"I forgot to do something," she lied. Harumi never believed in magic, or ESP, or anything of the sort, but she had a gut feeling that something was wrong. She raced down the hall, almost passing Hitomi's room. She skidded to a stop.

"Hitomi?" she said, popping her head in the room. She was answered by muffled sobs. 

"Hitomi, what's wrong?" she asked, coming into the room and putting her arm around her cousin. 

Hitomi looked up at her and wiped her eyes. "Oh, I'm just being silly, crying before my own wedding." She smiled weakly. "I was just thinking, wishing really, that our family and my friends could be here to see this."

"That's not silly," Harumi replied. "I know it won't be the same, but I'm sure we'll see them again someday."  
Hitomi gazed at her intensely. "You think so?"

Harumi smiled. "I know so. I may not be psychic like you, but my readings can be pretty accurate sometimes." Hitomi laughed, but then grew serious again. 

"Well, that was just one of the things that was worrying me."

"What else?"

Hitomi shook her head. "It's probably nothing. Don't worry about it." Only Van knew about Nikki's dream. They'd both agreed that it was best not to mention it, so not to cause alarm. At least, not until the wedding was over. 

"Don't you have to get dressed?" Hitomi said, standing and ushering her out.

Harumi knew that she was trying to get off the topic and decided to let her get away with it, this time. "Okay, but if you need to talk or anything, just come to me."

"Thanks, but I'll be fine." She shooed her away, closing the door behind her. But not before she gave silent thanks for having such caring people here on Gaea. 

* * * * * *

"How do I look?" Van asked his audience, which included all the men, plus Nikki and Mia, who had become bored with singing and volunteered to help him instead.

"You look like a prince in a storybook," Nikki said. He did have a very regal look to him. He was wearing a white shirt with gold braiding around the cuffs and color and plain black pants. But what made it so royal was the dark red cape he wore over it. It hung from his shoulders just an inch off the floor. 

Van scrutinized himself in the mirror. "Seriously, what do you think?"

"Absolutely fabulous!" Nikki said. 

"Simply ravishing," added Mia. Both girls were sporting the sunglasses Dryden had given them, which covered most of their faces. 

Van rolled his eyes and looked at the men for a more serious answer. 

"Very nice," Allen said wearily, more to shut him up than anything else.

"You're not even looking!" Van shouted out him, slightly hurt at Allen's indifference. This was true, as he was working on combing out a rather large knot in his long blond hair.

"You look fine," Chid assured him. Dryden and Kyle nodded in agreement. The door flung open and Merle ran in. 

"You girls need to get dressed," she said, pushing them out and ignoring their whines. "Aw, Lord Van, you look so cute!" she exclaimed. 

Van blushed. "You think so?" Now it was the others' turn to roll their eyes. 

"You look so cute!" Kyle said teasingly, mimicking his wife. 

Merle slapped his arm playfully. "You don't look too bad yourself."

"Aw, you think so?" He pulled her close to him. 

Van made a gagging noise. "Uh, this is my wedding day, not your honeymoon," he said. "So, you think you could do that somewhere else?"

"Fine, we were just about to leave anyway." She grinned at him and dragged her husband out the door. 

"We'd better go to," said Allen. "I have to put the finishing touches on my speech." 

"We'll help you," Chid volunteered. They filed out of the room. 

Van straightened his cape one last time. He did look pretty good, if he said so himself. He could hear music playing outside. Van took a deep breath. It was time.

* * * * * *

Van shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his eyes not leaving the bronze doors of the castle. He stood next to the priest under a white marble arc in the middle of a circle of bushes, pine branches, and even some small trees. It looked, as Millerna would say, like a green emerald. Van looked upward at the new Fanelian symbol, a dark green dragon with a single white feather floating next to it, which hung about the door. Next to him stood Allen, Dryden, Kyle and Chid, all dressed like him, except not quite as fancy and without the cape, and with bright smiles on their faces. Across from them, on the other side, stood the women: Merle, Harumi, Millerna, and Celena, and Mia and Nikki. They stood out like a rainbow against the greenery, wearing long v-neck dresses in a mixture of different colors; Merle's- a pale peach, Millerna's- pink, Harumi's-yellow, and Celena's- lilac. Mia and Nikki wore dresses the same color as their mother and cousin.

A row of chairs, with a narrow aisle between, were placed a few feet away, where van's advisors and other palace officials sat, along with Princess Eries and Tatiana, who weren't taking part in the ceremony. Outside of it was a sea of people, all eagerly awaiting he marriage of their king and the chance to see their new queen. 

The ceremony wasn't anything like a Mystic moon wedding, Japanese or otherwise. Rather, it completely followed Fanelian tradition. Van's advisors had insisted on that. What exactly the tradition was, he wasn't really sure. A royal wedding hadn't been celebrated since long before his reign. 

The doors finally swung open, causing a hush among the crowd. Hitomi walked out slowly, holding the sides of her dress so she wouldn't trip. Van's lips turned up into a grin when he saw her. Though everyone present thought she simply looked pretty, he never thought she'd looked more beautiful. His grin widened when he saw her dress. No other girl that his advisors tried to get him to marry would wear that. If they would marry him at all, that is, once they found out he was half-Draconian. But that didn't matter to Hitomi at all, just like he didn't care (unlike many others) that she was from the Mystic Moon. 

Hitomi came up to the altar and took his arm, smiling brightly. Van took quick inventory of the crowd. His closest friends were there: Merle, Allen. But there were some people missing. Van felt a wave of sadness wash over him. 

Hitomi squeezed his arm. "I wish my family were here too," she whispered. Van put his arm around her waist, and looked into her eyes, to tell her that it was, and he was, all right. And it would be, in a way. Even though Folken or her friends or their parents weren't there, they finally had each other again. That was the important thing for now.

The priest cleared his throat. "Van Fanel, our king, has reigned for fifteen years in splendor. He has brought peace and prosperity to our country. We here hope this union will ensure our continued success in the future. Today we bring forth to the throne a new queen, the lady Hitomi… um, um…" He fumbled with a piece of paper in his hand. 

"Kanzaki!" Van hissed. 

"Of course, the lady Hitomi Kanzaki. Our new queen…" 

"Is he going to ramble on for the whole ceremony?" Hitomi whispered. 

Van shrugged. "How should I know? I've never done this before. At least, not that many times," he added teasingly. 

Hitomi elbowed him and tried to turn her attention back to what the priest was saying. But it sounded mostly like "Blah, blah, blah, something, something, blah, blah, blah." Hitomi felt her eyelids droop. She wasn't the only one who wasn't listening.

Merle grinned as she watched the couple whispering. She'd never seen Van look so happy, and all because of Hitomi. Though a tiny part of her was still obsessed with her king, she didn't feel jealous at all. It used to be her dream to be up there in Hitomi's place. _How things have changed_, Merle thought to herself. She was glad it was Hitomi, and not a stranger. She would treat Van well. That was all she wanted, his happiness. _I've done pretty well for myself anyway," _she thought, glancing at her daughter and her husband. Kyle was scratching his ear vigorously as if he had fleas. He caught her eye and blew her a kiss. 

Allen smiled, noticing the exchange between the husband and wife. He sighed, a mixture of happiness and longing. _Figures, I'm the only one who's alone now. Talk about your irony. _He gazed out into the crowd. Princess Eries smiled at him. He waved to her. _Then again, maybe I'm not so alone._ He transferred his gaze towards his little sister. She was fiddling with a lock of hair and staring into space. Allen's smile faded. He made a mental note to ask what was bothering her after the ceremony. 

Celena ran her tongue over the roof of her mouth. It'd been sore since the morning. She'd bitten it to prevent herself from screaming after another nightmare, as awful as the ones the previous few nights. For the past fifteen years, they'd come on and off, but never this bad, nor this often. Perhaps it was something about Fanelia. This was, after all, where it all began. 

Harumi smoothed out her dress carefully and ran her fingers through her hair. Never had she felt more self-conscious about her looks before this day, even when she'd went to a dance with the boy's track star in high school. She felt a tug on her sleeve and looked down into the sweet face of her little cousin. Prepared, she silently reached into her pocket and produced a piece of paper and a pencil stub. Nikki bounded over to Mia. Harumi heard her whisper loudly, "Wanna play tic-tac-toe?" She put her finger to her lips in warning then turned back to the altar. But she couldn't concentrate. It was as if every eye was on her, even though it wasn't. Though she tried to hide it with a tough attitude, Harumi was, in reality, rather shy, especially in front of large crowds. She was as nervous as if she were the one getting married. Her glance fell on Chid who smiled at her broadly. "You look really nice," he mouthed. Her cheeks flushed.

"Thanks," she said back. She pinched herself and tore her eyes away from the handsome duke. 

Millerna stifled a giggle, watching the exchange. _He is so his father's son. _She put a hand to her mouth to muffle her laughter. Fifteen years ago, she wouldn't have laughed at that. But, just like Merle, that old love was gone and she was more than happy with what she had. How she'd managed to fall in love with Dryden, she didn't know, but if it was one thing she'd learned from Hitomi, it was to not question fate. She would always care for Allen, but he would never be a husband, or a lover._ A brother-in-law however…_

"…We hope that the successor will continue the traditions held up by our country. He…"

"What makes him so sure it'll be a he?" Hitomi whispered. "We could have a daughter."

Van snickered. "I think that's a part of those traditions, making the boy the heir. Although, if we have a daughter that's anything like you…"

Hitomi kicked him lightly in the shin. "When's this going to be over with? I'm starving."

"Me, too. I haven't eaten all day," he whispered back. "It's been well over an hour already."

Hitomi chuckled. "Look at Dryden and Kyle," she pointed out. The two men had their heads bent together over a sheet of paper and were whispering quietly. Every so often, Dryden would scribble furiously. "I think they're doing their taxes."

Van nodded his agreement. "Wake me up when this is over," he said, his eyelids drooping. He leaned on her shoulder. She pushed at him lightly, half asleep herself. All around them, the crowd was dozing. A few royal guards were even snoring aloud.

Having given up their game of tic-tac-toe, on account that Mia was now snoozing in her mother's arms,

Nikki hopped on one foot in place impatiently. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. 

"Will you just say 'kiss the bride' so we can leave already? My tummy hurts." Her outburst awakened the crowd, arousing laughs and even a "Here, here!"

The priest pursed his lips. He glanced at Van, who snapped to attention.

"Please," Van said sheepishly, "it's been a very long day."

"As you wish, your majesty," he said a hint of disapproval in his tone. "You may kiss the bride."

"Finally!" came the cries of the entire bridal party. 

Van grinned and pulled Hitomi close to him. "Finally," he said softly. He pressed his lips against hers and the crowd erupted into cheers. 

She smiled at him. "Finally."

* * * * * *

"May I have your attention please?" Allen said, rising from his seat. Everyone ignored him. He cleared his throat loudly. "AHEM!" That got their attention. One by one, they turned to him expectantly.

"I know you've probably heard enough talking today to last you a life time…" The priest snorted, looking irritated. "But," Allen continued," I'll try to make it quick. As most of us know, this event was a long time in coming, fifteen years in fact. I have to say I don't believe I've ever seen any couple who had to go through what they did. But they loved eachother and that loved helped them through it, even if they didn't realize it until the very end. But I won't go into that; it's much too long. Anyway, now, after fifteen years they still have that love and are finally together again. I hope that they will enjoy all the happiness in the world." He raised his glass. "A toast. To King Van and Queen Hitomi!"  
"To King Van and Queen Hitomi!" The crowd echoed. 

Allen sat back down. Hitomi rubbed her eyes. "Thank you, Allen." 

"It's nothing to cry over," Van said, handing her a cloth napkin. 

"It's my wedding and I'll cry if I want to," she retorted. The girls giggled. 

Princess Eries came over to the table, Tatiana trailing behind her.

"Congratulations, you two," she said warmly. 

"Thank you, Princess Eries." Hitomi smiled at her, her eyes dry once again. 

A servant came to their table carrying a glass bottle. He filled their glasses with a rich, red wine.

"Thank you," Van said to him. He bowed his head and hurried back to the kitchens. 

Hitomi took a sip. "Excellent choice of wine," she commented. 

Princess Eries nodded. "I thought so. I tried to find the one with the least amount of alcohol."

Allen, who'd just had taken a rather large sip, choked, nearly dropping his glass. Tatiana and Millerna patted his back roughly. He swallowed, then burst into laughter. 

Hitomi flushed a deep red. "I was only fifteen," she protested. "I'd never had it before and I was upset." This only made his laughter louder, which was caught by Van, Merle, Eries and Millerna. The others looked at them, bewildered, not understanding the joke.

"It's a long story," Van explained when he was able to control himself. 

Harumi raised her eyebrows at him. "You'll have to tell us later. Right now, I have to do my part in this." She stood up and went over to whisper something to the musicians.

"What's she going to do?" Hitomi asked curiously. 

Chid grinned. "You'll see."

Harumi sat down at the piano and played a chord. The musicians joined in, playing a lovely melody that Hitomi instantly recognized.

"What is it?" Van asked. 

"It's one of my favorite songs from the Mystic Moon," Hitomi replied. "It is called "Yakusoku wa Iranai." I'll translate for you later." She sat back in her chair, enjoying her cousin's voice. When she was finished, everyone applauded loudly. Harumi blushed and went back to the others. 

Hitomi hugged her. "You were wonderful," she gushed. 

"Thanks. I wasn't sure what to get you for a wedding gift, so I figured…" She shrugged apologetically. 

Hitomi squeezed her tightly. "I couldn't ask for a better present."

The musicians, with a new inspiration by that performance, began to play a lively waltz. "I'd hate to interrupt the moment," Van cut in, "but I'd like to dance with my wife if you don't mind."

Hitomi took his hand and he led her on the dance floor. Slowly, other couples drifted in after the bride and groom, including Merle and Kyle, Millerna and Dryden, Allen and Eries, a still blushing Harumi and Chid, and the three little girls dancing in a circle.

"Well," Van said, "everything went smoothly tonight."

Hitomi smiled at him. "Yeah, no invisible guymelefs charging in, burning the entire country down, all in all, a perfect day. So we have nothing to worry about." Van nodded in agreement. 

It was a perfect day. But, in Gaea, perfect doesn't last forever. And, for one of the first times, Hitomi's prediction was wrong. 


	11. Chapter Ten

Disclaimer: Escaflowne isn't mine, so tell your lawyers to go home and leave me alone. 

Descendants of Escaflowne

Chapter Ten

"And five, six, five six seven eight." Harumi walked sideways three steps before she realized no one was following her. "Oh, come on people, where's your energy?" 

The rest of the bridal party was sprawled on the floor, exhausted. They looked most undignified amid the otherwise fancy and sophisticated setting. The castle's ballroom was decorated from top to bottom with garlands and candles. On three walls, the forth being for the musicians, long tables were covered with Fanelian delicacies, including, but not limited to, loin of dragon. Despite Van's insistence that it was not real dragon, but roasted lizard, the girls from the Mystic Moon (even Nikki, who was famous for eating anything as long as it was dead) decided to skip that. But there were plenty of more appetizing things to choose from for the main course, plus a plethora of sugar-filled desserts. At each table, the nobles sat according to their rank, with the king, queen, and bridal party located at the north wall, next to a big window that overlooked the city. There, the lesser classes were having their own festivities to celebrate the new queen. Van (a very radical king, by their standards, especially since he'd declared, at his wife's insistence, that women could own property) wasn't too crazy about this division (and being stuck with the grouchy upper class instead of the friendly 'peasants' as they called them), but his advisors had insist- well, okay, begged him to go along with it. The middle of the floor was reserved for dancing. Those same advisors had intended on waltzes, minuets, basically, normal stuff for their, rather medieval, society. But no one had expected anything quite like this.

"Thank you for teaching us, Harumi," her cousin said wearily, sitting very carefully on her husband's lap, so she wouldn't get her dress dirty. "But we're all really tired."

"My feet hurt," Nikki whined, rubbing her now bare and blistered toes.

"Mine too." Mia chimed in. She winced as she ripped off a hangnail (claw?).

"Please, we need a break," Van added, too tired to make it a royal command. Not that anyone ever listened to him, at least no Kanzaki anyway, nor any of his other friends. He looked on the verge of whining as well.

Harumi rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you guys! It's only the Electric Slide, for god's sake. American children learn it in elementary school at least, and without breaking a sweat. My friend from New York taught me when I was eight in one day. How did you people ever survive a war, if you get tired from this? Don't you have to be fit to be a swordsman? For that matter, Hitomi, how did you even make it on the track team?"

"I was young and vibrant," she moaned. She pushed her bangs, which were soaking with sweat, away from her face. "Now I'm getting old."

"And they're paying for all that physical work now," Millerna, the doctor, informed her. "Fighting takes quite a few years off a person's life."

"Yeah," Van added. "Soldiers' joints predict storms. Or something like that. It's an old Atlantian saying. So please, take pity on us. We've been dancing for over an hour already."  
Chid jumped to his feet. He looked more energetic than the rest of them combined. "You guys are wimps," he scolded, but in jest. "Come on, Harumi, let's leave these old geezers and go for a walk." He bowed and offered her his arm. Blushing at the gentlemanly gesture, something all Mystic Moon boys wouldn't do, not even joking, she took it and followed him out of the ballroom.

"Your son certainly takes after you, Allen," Van told him. "He doesn't waste anytime." Hitomi drew in a sharp breath, but let it out when he chuckled. Apparently, he no longer bore any ill will towards Allen, which she thought was a good thing. She was afraid his comment had been more than just a simple joke. It was nice to know that those days were behind them. 

"Yep," she added. "It's a good thing you don't have any other male relatives, or else Nikki might be in trouble. Although I suppose there's still time." She glanced sideways at Princess Eries, who lowered her head in embarrassment. But Hitomi could tell she wasn't unpleased with the idea. 

The little girl made a face. "Yuck! Boys have cooties."

Dryden ruffled her hair. "You say that now. But just you wait, I'm sure they'll start flocking around you once you hit Tatiana's age." He winked at his daughter. 

"Daddy!" she exclaimed her cheeks turning rosy. 

Her mother laughed and hugged her. "In any case, it runs strong in the Schezar family. What about you, Celena? I haven't heard anything about your romantic life. Does that mean the Schezar women don't inherit the gene?"

"Huh?" Celena looked up from the floor, which she seemed to find so fascinating. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Millerna frowned, somewhat insulted at being ignored. "Never mind." 

Princess Eries, in contrast, however, was concerned. "Is something wrong, Celena?" she asked. Over the years since her return, the two girls had become very close, almost closer than they were with their siblings. Allen often complained cheerfully that the princess knew his sister better than he did. _She _would certainly have no objection about another nephew, especially from that union.

"Oh, nothing, I'm all right," she assured her, but no one was very convinced. Then she sighed and stood. "I'm going for a walk." She scampered off, nearly knocking over a maid who was carrying in the wedding cake.

"Oh well," Kyle commented, licking his lips at the sight of the chocolate mass covered in white whip cream. "More for us."

* * * * * *

Harumi breathed in the fresh country air deeply. She looked out at the lush green forest before her. It was, as Millerna had once described it, like a green emerald. "Isn't Fanelia beautiful?" she sighed. 

"Hm," Chid murmured, though he was looking more at her than at the landscape. His fingers itched to push a stray lock of hair out of her face. Contrary to what his family and friends had been saying, he was nowhere near the Casanova his father had been in his youth. Rather he was quite shy, not only around girls, but people in general. Being he'd spent most of his life ruling a country with little contact with normal people his age, it was understandable, but depressing all the same. The situation was worsened when, not too long ago, his advisors started nagging him about what Van's had for fifteen years: a royal marriage. But none of the supposed "beautiful maidens" placed before him had caught his eye, until now. True, Harumi's nose was a bit large and pointy (but she wasn't exactly in the minority in that world) and her light brown hair was rather unkempt, but to him, she was breathtaking. And, unlike the others, she was intelligent, strong-willed and actually had a mind of her own (a rare trait indeed). 

"We lived in the city back on Earth," she continued. "It's nice to get away from all the traffic and noise. I've always wanted to live in the country. Don't you think this place is nice?" She turned to look at him and nearly bumped her nose on his. She edged away, alarmed at his nearness. 

"Huh? Oh, yeah, Fanelia's great." He blushed, embarrassed at being caught staring. He backed off, giving her space. 

Harumi gave him a funny look. "You okay?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine, never better." He tried to grin brilliantly as he imagined his father would do in this type of situation, but only managed a nervous half-smile. 

Harumi covered her mouth to hide a giggle. _He's so cute! _The thought surprised her. She'd never felt that giddy with any of her old boyfriends, of which there had been many, and none long lasting. And none of them made her heart go pitter-patter when they looked at her like Chid was doing now. _Oh God, what's the matter with me? I'm acting like I never saw a cute boy before_, she chided herself. This "courting" thing, if that was what it was, wasn't something she was accustomed to either. It made dating without any lifelong commitments seem so much easier. 

"So, you're willing to stay here?" he asked casually, trying not to sound too eager. 

"Hmm? In Fanelia, you mean?" 

"Wherever. On Gaea in general," he clarified. "I mean, do you have plans to return to the Mystic Moon?" 

Harumi shrugged, her cheerfulness decreasing a bit. With all the excitement, she'd almost forgotten about home and the events of that morning. Would she see her family again? How could she if she remained on Gaea? What would her aunt and uncle say about it? Though she always kept her distance, she did love them dearly. And what about her friends, few though they were in number? Not only that, but also all her dreams, all her secret plans, they were based on Earth, not here. 

She heaved a long sigh, this time of sadness, not pleasure. For Hitomi there was no question about it. Her fate had been sealed long ago. And Nikki seemed to fit in perfectly here too; not that she had much to leave behind in the first place. But what about her? What did this place have for her? Suddenly it didn't seem so beautiful, just cold and lonely. Even the sun wasn't shining anymore. It was like a dark cloud was covering it and her as well. A tiny teardrop rolled down her cheek. 

"I'm sorry," Chid said, wiping the tear away gently. She'd almost forgotten he was there. "I didn't mean to say anything that would upset you."

Harumi shook her head, dabbing her eyes with the white silk handkerchief he had offered her. "No, it's not your fault. It's just, with everything going on, I never had time to think about it. I mean, do I really belong here? I kinda was just dragged along for the ride, maybe I wasn't supposed to come in the first place."

"I don't know," Chid began hastily. There was urgency in his voice as if, somehow, if she made the wrong decision it would harm him more than her. "Things in Gaea don't just happen by coincidence. If you were brought here, there was probably a reason. And I…" A faint blush crept upon his cheeks, revealing adorable freckles. "Maybe this is selfish of me, but I… I want you to stay. I've never really had a friend I could talk to. And, if you need a place to belong to, well, my country's always open. You're welcome to come any time. And… I… I'd really like it if you did."

Harumi's face lit up. She'd heard little about Freid, but that was no matter. Someone wanted her. And it wasn't out of pity; Chid wasn't that type of person, she already knew that. And he didn't want anything from her (at least nothing she wasn't willing to give at any rate) but because he enjoyed her company. She'd never been able to say that about anyone before, even her own family to some extent. Still, it was good to be cautious, just in case, and Harumi wasn't one to get her hopes up normally. "You would really do that for me?"

"Of course! In fact, please come," he asked shyly. 

She smiled at him. The giddy feeling was coming back, but she didn't _want _to fight it this time. "Thank you." Being the bold and somewhat impulsive person that she was, she leaned over and kissed him on the lips. What began as a light, grateful kiss turned deeper and more passionate quickly. But it wasn't the normal, base instinct passion that she'd felt with anyone else. Her heart did flips and somersaults in her chest. _Is this what Hitomi feels for Van?_ Little did she know, the couple hadn't actually kissed until a few days before, but it was the same concept nevertheless, for, as Hitomi had told her (though she'd never paid much attention to her advice before) physical contact wasn't always necessary. Not to say she didn't find it an interesting activity. After what seemed like an eternity, but over too soon, they finally broke away, breathless.

"So does that mean you will?" he asked, both bewildered and pleased at the same time. None of the women presented to him had ever been so forward either.

Harumi thought for a moment. For once, she almost regretted her normal caution, but this time, it was also common sense too. "Perhaps. I don't really want to leave my family yet, but I'll come visit for awhile and we can hang out or whatever. And we'll go from there."

Chid was grinning from ear to ear. "Great!" He picked her up off the ground and hugged her so tightly he nearly cut off her circulation. 

Harumi giggled, then she sobered. "I'm not making any promises yet," she warned him. "We haven't exactly known eachother for that long."

He nodded in agreement. "I know. I'm nowhere near ready for that kind of step, no matter what my advisors think. But I really could use someone my age around. All I have is Celena, and maybe Allen will come for awhile, but they're kinda boring. It'll be fun to spend time with you. Maybe you could teach the court that dance of yours. What's it called, the electric eel?"

She cracked up. "The Electric _Slide_," she corrected him. 

He shrugged. "Whatever, it's cool anyway."

"Um, I think we'll have to see about that," she said, trying to sound serious, but it was difficult when she was near hysterics. "They, er, might not be ready for that yet." Though she was trying to act mature about it, inside, she was bubbling up with excitement. _Who says there's no such thing as a charming prince, or king or duke, or whatever,_ she thought. Fairy tales could and would come true and she was finally getting the happily ever after she never even dared dream of. 

* * * * * *

"… Yadda, yadda, yadda, so all the flowers died and we had to start again."

Nikki fidgeted in her chair. For the past half-hour, she and her aunt had been subjected to Lady Avalea, one of the oldest members of the Fanelian nobility, who was droning on about her garden. Why Hitomi needed to know this information was anybody's guess. Every so often, she would interrupt herself to say, "Sit up straight, girl," or "Stay still!" or "Didn't you raise this girl properly? Where are her manners?" as if she was talking to a lowly peasant instead of her queen. The girl wasn't sure how much more of this she could take. Luckily, a certain little cat-girl saved her. 

"Lady Hitomi, can we go play outside?" Mia asked sweetly, fluttering her eyelashes.

"Of course. But don't go too far from the castle. Stay in the courtyard."

"Okay," the girls chorused. Nikki hoped out of her chair and turned to the old woman. "Later, cheese-breath," she crowed." They ran out as fast as they could, stopping only for a moment to drag Tatiana out with them.

"Why, I've never seen such an impolite child. You know, when my sons were young, I often found it best…"  
Hitomi sighed to herself. _Take me with you!_

* * * * * * * 

"Soccer is really, really easy to understand. All you do is kick the ball into the goal. And you can't use your hands, unless you're the goalie, then you can do any part of your body to stop the ball. Got it?"

"Yep!" The other girls nodded enthusiastically. 

"I'll be the goalie, okay?"  
"You're the boss," Mia quipped, giving Nikki a salute. 

She grinned and saluted back, while dribbling the ball with her feet. She stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled. "Begin!"

* * * * * *

"MUST. CUT. OFF. MY. EARS!" Hitomi sank into a chair next to her husband and leaned on his shoulder. "Does that woman _ever_ stop talking?" she groaned. 

Van shook his head. "Nope, never. Lady Avalea is the village gossip. You'd think with the war and all, she'd be afraid to come back and go find another country to bother instead, but no. She tortured my mother when she was still alive too."

"Couldn't she have turned her into a frog with the power of Atlantis or something?" the queen grumbled. 

"Nope," he repeated. "My mother was one of her favorite topics. Convinced she was a witch or a demon or something of the sort. Mother always walked on eggshells around her, lest she find some reason to have her burned at the stake. No one would pay her any attention, but she's from a pretty powerful family. Her husband's one of my advisors. Nice man, seems very tired though."  
Hitomi rolled her eyes. "Why could that be, I wonder?" She sighed. "With my luck, I'll be next."

Van chuckled. "Aw, forget her. Look, I think she's found another victim already. Poor Celena. She came back at just the wrong time. Think we should rescue her?"

Hitomi looked in the direction he was pointing. The noble's mouth was moving a mile a minute, but Celena seemed kilometers away. "Nah, I don't think she's really listening anyway. I know I don't know her very well, but is Celena always this…?" She let the rest of the sentence hang in the air for Van to complete. 

"Dreamy?" he supplied. "No, I've never seen her act like this before. Do you think something's wrong?"  
Just then, Celena's head perked up, like that of a puppy who'd just heard its master. She ran away like a bat out of hell, leaving the clueless old woman still talking. Her face was as white as a ghost's. 

"I don't know. Maybe not. That's what I would do. It's what I did actually. She does look upset though. We should keep an eye on her. I wonder what's up."  
As they were talking, the sky began to darken unexpectedly, as if there were an eclipse. But no one noticed; nor did they see the blob-shaped shadow on the ground.

* * * * * *

"Come on, get it past me!" Nikki hopped around, floating like a butterfly in her puffy dress. Her energy had returned as soon as she got outside. Dancing wasn't her strong point, nor was sitting still, but sports were. It paid off having an athletic father and an athletic aunt. It was her aspirations, at five years old, to win the Women's World Cup. Her new friends didn't have any idea what that was, of course, but they could see it was a possibility, even with their untrained eyes.

Mia gritted her teeth and focused on the hog skin ball they were using. She ran, aimed and kicked. Then she landed on her bottom as the ball rolled an inch. "Darn it!" she screeched, her face flushed from both the exertion and her embarrassment. "I missed again!" 

"Well, at least you didn't rip the ball this time," Tatiana said philosophically, _trying _to be helpful. "We don't have another."

Mia stuck her tongue out at her friend and pouted. 

"It's okay," Nikki reassured her. "It takes a lot of practice. I've been playing since I was a baby." It was a stretch, but not by much. Since Nikki could remember, Hitomi and her brother had taken her to every sporting event imaginable and taught her all of them. Except for sumo wrestling that is, but the reason for that is fairly self-explanatory. It was quite apparent that her father had wanted a son desperately, from his upbringing of Nikki. Unknown to him, however, it would never come to pass. But wherever he was, he could at least be proud of his daughter. "Give it another try."

"Well, okay," she said slowly, not completely convinced by her friend's comforting words. 

"You can do it!" Tatiana encouraged, jumping up and down in an odd sort of cheerleading motion. Nikki grinned at her. If she had them, she would have given her some fans. Silly though it was, her enthusiasm was infectious. Mia backed up to almost the other end of the courtyard. Then she ran. She had her mother's speed, even if she lacked her coordination. She hit the ball with all the force her little feline body could muster. It soared in the air and Nikki set herself to grab it. She dove, but it flew past her out the open gate. Mia's face fell.

"That was much better!" Nikki said. "I'll go get it." She trotted off, forgetting her aunt's warning about staying in the courtyard. The ball, propelled by Mia's kick, was over a yard away and still bouncing along. She ran to keep up with it as it rolled into the forest. 

"Hey, wait up!" she called after it. She hiked up her skirt so she wouldn't trip on it and stomped on the ball. It came to an abrupt stop. Nikki bent to pick it up and saw that the ground was filled with a great shadow. But this was cylindrical in shape, and unlike the castle wall, the shadow ended there, instead of coming off from where the wall stood. Nikki looked up and gasped at what she saw. "A floating castle?" She grinned. "Cool." But as she was about to find out, it wasn't so cool. In fact, it wasn't cool a bit.


	12. Chapter Eleven

Disclaimer: Escaflowne does not belong to me. All characters not in the series were original ones created by myself.

Descendants of Escaflowne

"Harumi." The girl felt more than heard her name whispered, as the lips of the person speaking were currently occupied, pressed against her own. She pushed away a curl out of her eyes and sighed happily (or tried to anyway, though she ended up doing something completely different [but not unpleasant]).

Any passerby would have taken them for just an ordinary pair of lovers, who had left the festivities to steal a kiss in the courtyard (well, technically to make out in the courtyard, but that doesn't sound quite as romantic). No one would expect that one was foreign royalty and the other was from the Mystic Moon. That in truth it was like something right out of a fairy tale. Or a romance novel anyway.

Taking the initiative (Chid was still quite new at this type of human interaction), she moved closer, threading her fingers through his hair and breathing in his sweet sense. She was very fortunate that the people of Freid believed in daily ritual cleansing. Her cousin did not seem to have fared as well (Although Hitomi had gotten used to that a long time ago). She closed her eyes and whispered his name. "Chid."

"Celena!" He got up, knocking Harumi to the ground, just in time to see his aunt scurrying into the forest as if her life depended on it. "Where the heck is she going?"  
Harumi frowned, irritated that so romantic a moment was ruined, and then shrugged. "Don't know, but if I were her, I wouldn't be running into the forest right now. All those trees, and it looks like it's going to rain any minute. If there's a storm…" She glanced up at the sky. There wasn't a single rain cloud; yet it was so dark it looked as if it were night. She knew she couldn't have lost track of that much time. "Is there an eclipse today?" she wondered aloud, searching the heavens for any sign of the sun (even though, if it were an eclipse, that would've been the worst thing to do). "What the-?"  
Chid looked up and moaned. "Oh shit."

"Aahhhh!" The quiet chatter of the room was broken by an earth-shaking scream, courtesy of guess who.

"Oh, what's that old bat griping about now?" Hitomi complained, glaring over at the Lady Avalea. If she was scary looking before, she was even more horrific now. The noble's white hair almost stood completely on end. Her already pasty white complexion was the color of a brand new sheet of paper; her big mouth was opened wider than seemed possible. She pointed out the window with a wrinkled old finger.

Mildly curious, all in the room turned their attention to her, figuring they could at least get a laugh at her expense. No such luck, as all they saw was darkness outside, and nothing at all funny.

"There there dear. It's just getting late, that's all. No need to fuss about it." Her husband comforted her, embarrassed by his wife's display (though he really ought to have been used to her insanity by now). As he said this, Hitomi automatically glanced at her watch, Harumi's watch actually. It was gold and fancy, and that was enough justification for wearing it with her wedding gown. She liked to have at least something from Earth on her at all times, whether it was a watch or a pager, or anything for that matter that had to do with modern technology. Now, as best as she could, she had tried to coordinate it to Gaean time. At that moment, it read 5 o'clock. On a summer evening, like that one, darkness wasn't the norm. But she still dismissed it, not wanting to think about anything bad. "It's probably just a storm," she said confidently. "Nothing to worry about." But the Fanelians didn't seem very reassured.

"It could be an eclipse. That's a bad omen. Could mean that the wedding is doomed," said one of the royal advisors, a conservative who did not like Hitomi at all.

"No, it's the curse of the Mystic Moon!" Another crowed, causing a hush to fall on the room before-

"Poppycock! That's just a myth." Allen rolled his eyes, and taking his knight in shining armor roll, went to check it out to appease the "damsel" in distress. He stuck his head out the window.

"Well, what do you see?" Dryden asked impatiently.

Allen turned around slowly, his face the color of white marble. "The gods help us all."

"Is it just me, or is anyone else having a sense of déjà vu?" Dryden joked, producing scowls on all of his friends' faces.

"Hm, I wonder." Millerna frowned, grabbing her husband by the collar roughly to make sure he didn't attempt anything stupid like the last time. "If you hurt yourself, I'm not sewing you up," she hissed softly in his ear.

"Someone didn't have enough to drink today," he muttered. Millerna let go for one second and smacked him on the back of his head.

Allen normally would have laughed at that (though they were friends, Dryden still got on his nerves a little bit after all these years), but today he felt like being the peacemaker. "Come on you two, this is no time to be arguing, if this is really what we think it is."

"You're not really sure it's _that_?" Hitomi asked fearfully, afraid to say the word aloud, lest it be true. "Maybe it really is an eclipse this time. Or maybe it's going to rain."

Her new husband shook his head, bursting her bubble. "No, thanks to all the new Zaibach technology we got, we're pretty good at predicting those kinds of things. But I suppose they could have made a mistake, so we should go outside and check it out, just in case. After you," Van kidded. He handed Dryden his sword- as if that alone would do much good.

The merchant's face suddenly became five shades paler. As Millerna was safe for the moment, he was not in the mood for heroics. The weapon would serve him even less than it would the others- he was an awful swordsman. He'd be more likely to get hurt himself than the other way around. You could see why his wife was worried.

Allen shook his head at Van. "This is a really bad time for you to get a sense of humor," he said to the king solemnly.

Hitomi made a face at all three of them, exasperated that they were still standing around talking and not doing anything. "Oh, I'll go!" she huffed. "You boys can take care of the kids." As soon as she said the words, she automatically stopped in her tracks, though she hadn't taken a single step. "Oh no! The kids!"

"What the fk is that?" Harumi exclaimed, staring at the giant fortress that loomed over them in the sky.

Although Chid wasn't sure of the meaning of that particular expletive, he understood the sentiment. "It's a Zaibach floating fortress," he explained, remembering the device all too well. Needless to say, it was not a pleasant memory. "But Zaibach doesn't have any more of those. Or it shouldn't at least. But we've had a treaty for 15 years, why attack us now?"

Harumi shrugged. "How am I supposed to know?" she asked, trying to sound casual. In truth, Chid's words worried her. "In any case," she added, as something had just occurred to her, "the one person who might know is Celena."

The duke shook his head, frowning. It bothered him that Harumi suspected his aunt, though of course it made sense. If anyone in Fanelia would have any idea, Celena would, involved or not. Still… "No," he said finally. "She looked pretty shocked when we saw her. And no one can pretend to be that upset. No, she-"

"Damnit, why is that thing just standing there?" Harumi interrupted, not caring that she was being rude to royalty- it was a time of crisis, and sometimes she let her mouth get the best of her. "Why won't it attack? Or make demands? Something instead of just- hovering- like that." She shuddered.

Chid took note of this and slipped his arm around her shoulders. "They're probably trying to scare us. They're just playing with us." His voice was filled with disgust, but mixed with sadness. It didn't take a genius to know that he was thinking about what they had done to the previous duke. Harumi snuggled against him, comforting him the only way she knew how, though it in no way could make the pain of his beloved stepfather's death go away. He squeezed her briefly before releasing her, his face determined.

"Come on," he said, taking her by the hand and leading her back toward the castle. "Let's find out what the hell is going on."

Celena ran through the forest faster than she ever had, as a man or a woman. Her heart pounded in her chest, feeling as if it might explode with fear. She should've known something was coming; her dream must've been a warning. Some good that did her- she could've been prepared for this. Her friends needed her; she had failed the Dragon Slayers, she refused to fail these good people too. But no- she had been stupid and ignored the dream, though she'd had precognitive dreams before. It was one of the beneficial after effects of the work of the sorcerers, who knew why. She wasn't nearly as adept as Hitomi, of course, but it had gotten her out of scrapes before.

Soon, exhaustion made her slow to a walk, and she was able to think clearer. The dreams hadn't shown her anything that hadn't already happened, that hadn't haunted her for years before. And why would the Dragon Slayers appear in a vision of the future? They were dead, every single one of them. There was no way she would ever see them again, so why? She would soon find out.

Her intentions had been to sneak onto the Vione somehow and kill whoever it was before they could hurt her friends. She had no scruples about murder- heaven knew she had done worse and for less noble reasons. All she had as a weapon was a little knife; but she could steal a sword, which she still knew how to use. Everything else depended pretty much on luck. It wasn't as if she had taken the time to plan this beforehand; it had only appeared a half an hour ago at most. But she would kill them, that fact was certain. And then the enemy came to her.

"What are you looking at?" Mia asked curiously, trotting over to Nikki when she didn't return right away. Tatiana followed, literally on the cat-girl's tail.

"Up there," the little girl pointed. "It's a floating castle! Just like the one Aunt Hitomi talked about in the stories." It took a second for the enormity of what she had just said to sink in. "Uh oh," she added, in a way that might have been cute, had she spilled a glass of milk, instead of seeing something that could mean the death of them all. The other girls stared at her, not needing to know what she meant. They had heard the story from their parents too. It took only another minute for them to scream and run, confusion making them head for the forest, toward the floating fortress.

They didn't go very far; instead they ran smack into two pairs of legs. "Oomph." Nikki's scream caught in her throat when she heard her cousin's voice.

"Nikki!" Harumi picked the child up and squeezed her tightly. "Are you okay?"  
"Uh huh," she whimpered in the girl's shoulder. Tatiana and Mia clung to Chid, who patted their backs simultaneously.

"We'd better warn Van and the others," he said, once the children were calmer. But before they could take a single step, the floating fortress finally reacted and they froze in horror. From within the Vione, one of Dornkirk's never used weapons- a laser like machine powered by energists- was being controlled by someone, or something that they couldn't see. But they could hear the device charging up, even from where they were standing. And then it fired, right at the castle, at the royal banquet hall, where all their friends and family were celebrating, oblivious to the danger that was about to befall them.


End file.
